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A day after the security forces removed the head of Kashmir from the Hizbul Mujahideen terror group, Riyaz Naikoo, in a joint operation, the head of the Pakistan-based terror group Syed Salahuddin said the sacrifice would help them fulfill the mission they had set out to accomplish.
Salahuddin, who also heads the alliance of pro-Pakistan terrorist groups, called the United Jihad Council, warned India that the Kashmir problem is a spark that could spark a fire engulfing the entire region.
Also read: Hizbul’s main terrorist, Riyaz Naikoo, was hiding in the southern bunker of Kashmir; killed overnight op
The message, according to a statement issued by the terrorist group, was delivered at a meeting to condole the death of 32-year-old Riyaz Naikoo and his associate Adil Ahmed, who were killed in Wednesday’s operation by the Jammu police and Kashmir and soldiers of the 21 Rashtriya rifles.
Syed Salahuddin
Salahuddin was designated a global terrorist by the United States in 2017. According to the United States, Salahuddin had committed or represents a “significant risk of committing acts of terror.”
But that ranking has made no difference to Hizbul chief Mujahideen who has the support of Pakistan’s deep state and has been participating in public events for years. The Pakistani government had stated that it would not act against Salahuddin since the United Nations Security Council had not classified him as a terrorist.
Islamabad has also failed to act against those designated by the UNSC. There are around 130 people who have been sanctioned by the UNSC. About them, Pakistan says it cannot find most of the people sanctioned by the UNSC due to inadequate or inaccurate information about them in the UNSC files.
Riyaz Naikoo’s luck ran out at the seventh hideout
Syed Salahuddin’s statement described Riyaz Naikoo’s status in the Hizbul Mujahideen hierarchy as its commander-in-chief. Its removal is a major setback for the terror group and will lead to its weakening in southern Kashmir, where Hizbul has traditionally been active, a senior police officer said.
This part of Kashmir is also where Riyaz Naikoo had an extensive network.
It had many hiding places in this area, Police Inspector General Vijay Kumar said Thursday. Kumar said six of their hiding places had already been busted. The place where he was found dead after the shooting with the security forces was his seventh. Because there was a possibility that this house could be connected to others in the vicinity through underground tunnels, the security forces even brought in earth excavation equipment, including four JCB machines, to block any such efforts.
Kumar said it was natural that the terrorist group would be affected by its removal. “Riyaz Naikoo was the most experienced … When the next one is named, we will go after him … We already know who it will be,” said the chief police officer for the Kashmir region.
Syed Salahuddin’s statement on Thursday did not name anyone. Nor had he formally appointed Riyaz Naikoo, who was considered the de facto head of Hizbul in Kashmir.
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