A new strategy by Pakistan to revive local militancy in J&K has been exposed by the Indian Intelligence agencies. An Intelligence Bureau assessment suggests that Pakistan has been upping its defence capabilities by increasing the presence of Special Service Group commandos.
The development coincides with Pakistan reactivating several of its terror training camps along the Line of Control. Amidst this, the most important development is that the ISI is looking to revive the Hizbul Mujahideen, thus indicating that a major push is being made to boost local terrorists in Jammu & Kashmir.
Reviving Hizbul Mujahideen
The Hizbul Mujahideen was the only local terror group that operated with strength in Jammu & Kashmir. However the security forces targeted the group heavily as Bharat’s security planners realised the importance of wiping out this group so that local terror did not thrive.
Further, the Hizbul Mujahideen was closely associated with the separatists in the Valley, and this collaboration was a lethal one. The security forces had to deal with terror attacks by the Hizbul Mujahideen and the propaganda by the terrorists. On the one hand, terror attacks were carried out. On the other, there was stone pelting every Friday after prayers at the Mosques.
To begin with, the security agencies prepared a hit list of Hizbul terrorists. The big hit began with the killing of Burhan Wan, who had become a local hero. His images where he was seen posing with guns became an instant hit, and many took to the terror inspired by him. However, his killing marked the beginning of the end of the Hizbul Mujahideen in the Valley. In quick time, the forces had achieved their objective, and the Hizbul Mujahideen had gone.
This led Pakistan to rely heavily on their terrorists from the Jaish-e-Mohammad and Lashkar-e-Tayiba. To undertake terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir, it had become harder for the ISI. The entire process involved first ensuring the infiltration of these foreign terrorists into Jammu & Kashmir. This was proving to be hard for the ISI, and hence, a decision was taken to revive the Hizbul Mujahideen so that local terrorism could thrive. By doing so, the ISI is now seeking to recruit as many locals so that they can carry out strikes. Further, these elements would be present in the Union Territory, which means that the process of infiltration is eliminated.
Maintaining a low-key
An Intelligence Bureau official tells the Organiser that the information they have managed to gather suggests that the revival of the Hizbul Mujahideen would be a low-key affair. They do not want to attempt anything bombastic as they are aware of what happened the last time. The last time around, the Indian security forces went into overdrive mode, and before anyone realised the Hizbul Mujahideen cadres had been wiped out.
This time around the ISI wants to take things slow and start from scratch. It has recruited some former members of the Tehreek-e-Taliban to oversee the operations of the Hizbul Mujahideen. Most of these elements are sitting across the border in launch pads. There are attempts being made to send these elements into Jammu & Kashmir so that they can interact with the locals and then train them.
The chief of the Hizbul Mujahideen Syed Salahuddin is currently in Pakistan. He has laid low for a very long time now. The last time he was spotted was on April 22 2024, at Muzaffarabad in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). He did not speak at the gathering but was seen interacting with the members of the Muttahida Jihad Council (MJC), which is a conglomerate of around 13 Pakistan-based Kashmir-centric terror outfits.
Salahuddin has stayed away from the limelight. In Pakistan, where he has been residing since 1993 after he fled J&K, he has been raising funds with the hope that his terror outfit would be revived one day. Salahuddin was designated as an individual terrorist by the Ministry of Home Affairs in October 2020.
It is a fragile situation, an officer explained and all attempts are being made to ensure that the youth are not swayed by the designs of the ISI.
In order to create a distraction at the border so that the trainers could infiltrate, the Pakistan Army is engaging in mock firing to distract the Indian soldiers.
While the official assessment suggests that a major push is being made to revive the Hizbul Mujahideen, there is, however, nothing on making a push so that the separatists are back in the Valley. That would not be possible now for a variety of reasons, officials say. The Enforcement Directorate has broken its backs by investigating scores of cases relating to money laundering. What the ED and other officials have realised is that the separatists have lost interest since there is no money involved any longer. The routes through which the funds were reaching them have all been blocked. Dozens of hawala operators in Delhi have been arrested as they were the ones who were facilitating the money transfer to the separatists.
During the investigations, it had become clear that these separatists catered more to their luxuries rather than their so-called cause. Once the money trail was wiped out, they, too, stepped back.
However, in the case of the Hizbul revival, the agencies are taking no chances. The situation could get chaotic if the ISI is successful in their plan. The revival of local militancy is the last thing that the agencies want. The goal currently is to ensure that the youth progress and not pick up guns as the ISI would want them to do. The agencies are monitoring the situation closely and are ready to thwart the slightest of attempts that would be made to reach out to the youth and ask them to join the Hizbul Mujahideen.
