The killing of Hamza Burhan in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (POK) last week dealt a major blow not only to the Al-Badr Mujahideen but also to the plans of the Pakistani intelligence agency ISI to re-establish a network of local terrorists in Kashmir.
According to a report by Jagran.com, the ISI was systematically promoting Hamza Burhan, whose real name is Arjmand Gulzar, as the new face of the Kashmir jihad. Through him, there was a conspiracy to jointly engage Hizbul Mujahideen and Al-Badr cadres in Kashmir to carry out terrorist activities to portray the terrorist violence in Kashmir as entirely local.
Hamza, a resident of Kharbatpora in Pulwama district in South Kashmir, had been in Pakistan for nearly seven years. He was killed in an attack near Ojra, Muzaffarabad, in POK last week. He was third in command of the Al-Badr Mujahideen.
Following the killing of Hizbul commander Burhan Wani and the abrogation of Article 370, the Indian government has exposed Pakistan on the issue of terrorism in the international arena by eliminating terrorist networks in Kashmir.
After severe setbacks to its policy of destabilising Kashmir, Hamza Burhan was a major weapon for Pakistan, as he was young and had become a jihadist after dropping out of his MBBS studies.
ALSO READ: Globally Wanted Terrorists Attend Funeral Of Al-Badr Commander Hamza Burhan In Islamabad | Video
Furthermore, he had a strong network not only in Pulwama in South Kashmir but also in Budgam in Central Kashmir and North Kashmir.
According to a senior police officer involved in counter-terrorism operations in Jammu and Kashmir, available information suggests that Hamza Burhan was among the Kashmiri terrorists enjoying the highest privilege and importance under the patronage of the ISI, in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, for the last five to six years.
His protocol was higher than that of Syed Salahuddin of Hizbul Mujahideen.
Pak's plan to unleash terror in Kashmir
The ISI, through Hamza Burhan, was attempting to intensify terrorist violence in Kashmir by linking Hizbul Mujahideen and Al-Badr Mujahideen cadres. The ISI intended to use its overground worker network to work for Al-Badr Mujahideen in areas where Hizbul Mujahideen's active cadres had been eliminated.
Besides, in order to show itself strong again, Hizbul Mujahideen was to take responsibility for the incidents carried out by the cadres of Al-Badr. In the past, too, the cadres of these two terrorist organisations have carried out violent activities in South Kashmir and Budgam.
Terrorist Abu Alqama was killed in 2019
As part of an arrangement between Al-Badr and Hizbul Mujahideen, terrorist Zeenat ul Islam, alias Abu Alqama, crossed over to Al-Badr in 2018 but was killed in January 2019.
Over the past few years, the ISI has spawned numerous shadow organisations, including the TRF, PFF, Kashmir Tigers, Kashmir Resistance Force, Ghaznavi Force, and Lashkar-e-Mustafa.
However, all of these organisations are affiliated with Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish, or Tehrik-ul-Mujahideen. Their key handlers are Pakistanis.
Hamza Burhan was set to assume a key role amid this new terror initiative. He was also poised to become the next leader of the United Jihad Council, a Pakistan-based common platform for terrorist organisations active in Kashmir, headed by Syed Salahuddin.
Sallahuddin is now ageing and no longer actively involved in the operations of terrorist camps, confined to meetings and speeches to new cadres.
After Salahuddin, Hamza Burhan was the only new face accepted by all the old terrorist commanders.