Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind
Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind (Urdu: أنصار غزوة الهند, lit. 'Supporters of the Conquest of Hind') is an al-Qaeda-affiliated Islamist jihadist militant group active in Kashmir. The group's stated objective is to create Kashmir as an independent Islamic state under Sharia law and jihad against India.[13]
Background[edit]
Zakir Rashid Bhat was an Islamist Kashmiri militant popularly known as Zakir Musa. He was a former field operational commander of Hizbul Mujahedeen.[13] In May 2017, Musa criticized the Hurriyat leaders for calling the Kashmir conflict a political objective rather than a religious one to establish an Islamic state ruled with Sharia. He warned them not to become a "thorn" in the imposition of Sharia in Kashmir, but after a few hours, Hizbul Mujahideen immediately disassociated itself from Zakir Musa's statement and Zakir Musa in response quit the organization[14][15][16] after releasing statements to support his argument that the struggle in Kashmir was not for political purposes. Following Musa's split, Pro-Zakir Musa Kashmiri militants formed a militant faction named Zakir Musa Army 313 to openly support Musa and his "Islamic Rule" ideology.[17] In July 2017 the faction joined Al-Qaeda as Musa was impressed by Al-Qaeda's religious objective of imposing Sharia law in Kashmir and he formed a new cell of Al-Qaeda named Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind.[7][8] In the same month, the Global Islamic Media Front-affiliated Al Hurr media channel of Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind claimed that Zakir Musa had been named the head of Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind, a newly created cell of Al-Qaeda.[1] After the killing of militant commander Abu Dujana and Arif Lelhari, a statement purported to be from Musa was released. The statement claimed that Abu Dujana and Arif Lelhari left Lashkar-e-Taiba, had joined Al-Qaeda and helped establish a new cell of Al-Qaeda in Kashmir. Officials stated that the voice in the video matched those of the earlier audio clips by Musa, though the state's DGP S.P. Vaid stated there was no way of authenticating the clips even though there were reports that Dujana and Musa were close at the time. Meanwhile, an audio clip circulated on media that claimed to be the last message from Dujana and Arif during their encounter. Two voices claim allegiance to Al-Qaeda; however, no gunfire is heard and the authenticity of the clip was not proven.[6] Zakir Musa was one of the most wanted militants in Jammu and Kashmir after Burhan Wani with a bounty of 1 million Indian rupees on his head announced by the Government of India.[13] In November 2017 the Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind formed an alliance with Hizbul Mujahideen. After the meeting of Riyaz Naikoo with Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind, Zakir Musa released an audio tape after a few days of meetings, where he called all Kashmiri Mujahideen groups to unite for Jihad against enemies of Islam, with the goal to achieve freedom from India and enforce a Sharia law-based Islamic revolution in the region. He also warned 'Don't forget Kashmir if Pakistan withdraws its support to Kashmir, the insurgency would be also fought inside Pakistan'. Afterwards, Syed Salahuddin, the chief of Hizbul Mujahideen, released a statement threatening the Pakistan Army: 'We are fighting for Kashmiri Muslims in Kashmir and if Pakistan army withdraws its support, the war would be fought inside Pakistan too'.[18][19]
Etymology[edit]
The group derives its name from the Islamic prophecy of Ghazwa-e-Hind, the ultimate conquest of India. Arabic word "Ansar" means supporters.
Slogans[edit]
Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind claims to have two slogans: the first being "Kashmir Banega Darul Islam" (Kashmir will become Islamic state) and the second being "Sharyiat ya shahadat" (Sharia or martyrdom).
Allegiance to Al-Qaeda and Taliban[edit]
In July 2017, the Global Islamic Media Front Affiliated Al Hurr media Channel of Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind claimed that Zakir Musa had been named the head of Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind under the allegiance to Al-Qaeda.[7][8][21] In September 2021, The group released a letter on social media in which group announced allegiance to Afghan Taliban after the takeover in Afghanistan.[22]