With the killing of chief of Ansar Ghazwat al Hind (AGH) Zakir Rashid Bhat alias Zakir Musa early on Friday (May 24), the Al-Qaeda’s Kashmir wing has been left leaderless and without its most maverick militant commander. But will Musa’s killing end the chapter for AGH is matter of question.
In the immediate aftermath of Musa’s killing, the state enforced a clampdown and all roads leading to Musa’s hometown in Tral were closed and internet services were shut too.
“Despite the state’s clampdown, people managed to reach in thousands to attend Musa’s funeral,” Shafiq, a graduate student from Pulwama told me.
For the police and security establishment, the killing of Musa ranked as a major success.
During a press briefing in Poonch on Tuesday (May 28), the state police chief Dilbag Singh said the ‘new idea of militancy introduced by Zakir Musa ended with his death.’
The statement by Police Chief Dilbagh Singh is in effect an admission that the local variant of militancy in Kashmir – represented by groups like Hizbul Mujahideen is of a different character, or purpose than the one espoused by groups like Ansar Ghazwat ul Hind, which Zakir Musa flouted in July 2017 after he parted ways with Hizb over difference with political motives of ‘Kashmir movement.’
Whether the ideology will survive or find new takers is a matter of debate but for many people in South Kashmir it matters little if Musa’s ideology was popular or not.
For Abid Hussain, a journalist based in Shopian, Zakir’s killing evoked a same response like that of other militants in the area. “Whether people agree or disagree with his ideology, but people gave him the same respect that they gave to the others who have been killed before,” he said.
Abid says that things can shape differently in South Kashmir post-Musa’s killing. “In my view, the majority of the people who are in favour of Musa’s ideology will not be able to expand as Musa’s troops are only a few in number and the local support of youngsters in these two districts goes to other militant outfits,” Hussain said.
Many in South Kashmir saw in Zakir Musa what other militant commanders were lacking; his appeal and charisma. Musa indeed was the second most popular militant since Burhan Wani. Chants of Musa Musa, Zakir Musa, rang through the air on Musa’s funeral last Friday.
“Zakir Musa had the charisma of an ideologue than that of a militant commander. His killing in no way is the end of ideology but yes a hurdle for its acceleration. The death of ideologue is never a major impediment to an ideology,” says Umair Gul, a research scholar from Anantnag.
For Umair, who has studied the growth of militant movement in Kashmir since 1980, “Musa didn’t represent anything much different but his advocacy was stricter with laid emphasis on restricting friends than expanding the circle of enemies.”
Much like the sentiment on the ground, Umair doesn’t see much difference in the religious ideology espoused by Musa. Umair says religion has always been part of every struggle in Kashmir from the Dogra era.
“The religious pole may have changed, but not the religion. After the Iranian revolution, Iran was the religious pole. Pakistan has been the religious pole for quite some time now in Kashmir, Palestinian struggle has been a religious pole, like wise Al-Qaeda or Islamic State are also religious poles. The more there is repression more stringent poles are bound to make resistance revolve around,” he said.
While Musa enjoyed significant support in the whole of Tral, but for some, "he was just a radicalized person,’ says Abid Hussain.
“Musa’s popularity, however, is limited because the Hurriyat has its roots well within the society and the number of youths active or have been killed were affiliated with the organizations other than Zakir Musa group,” Hussain said.
With only five militants remaining in Musa’s outfit, it is not farfetched to say that the group has lost its face and its main recruiter and as the voices on the ground suggest, AGH will find it difficult to make a mark or even survive.