SRINAGAR: A hunt has been launched in Jammu and Kashmir to identify the source of banners and flags of militant group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) that had recently appeared at different rallies in the state.
Although we arent yet clear who is behind it, we are concerned about where these are originating from and how these banners and flags have reached J&K, Delhi-based media reports have quoted an unnamed senior official at the Ministry of Home Affairs as saying.
Security agencies are understood to have drawn up a list of about 50 possible suspects. We are still in the process of verifying their antecedents, NDTV reported while quoting the official.
The first reported sighting of ISIS flags and banners in Kashmir was on June 27, intelligence agency sources said. This was followed by two more incidents on the day of Eid.
Commentators and analysts here believe that the local people are in fact trying to give vent to their anger against India. That is why they sometimes take cover of ISIS flags, they said adding recently, people especially youth hold powerful rallies against Israeli aggression in Gaza, but shouted anti-India slogans as well.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah early this month had claimed that a non-resident Kashmiri boy had joined the globally feared Islamic State of Iraq and Syria?ISIS. The bombshell came amidst fears raised by rampant use of ISIS and Al Qaeda flags by young protesters during pro-Palestine demonstrations. The CM, however, had reassured New Delhi that no youth from Kashmir had joined the group.
Meanwhile the Indian army has ruled out any presence of ISIS or Al Qaeda but has expressed concern about Kashmiri youth getting swayed by the extremist brand of resistance displayed by ISIS.
According to my knowledge, so far no one from Kashmir has joined the group or gone to Syria or Iraq. There are no such inputs.
Omar, in capacity of being the state’s home minister might have got the clue from the state intelligence. J&K Police, sources said, has now shared the information with the Indian home ministry. “Even if a Sydney-based non-resident Kashmiris has joined the ISIS it is a serious concern. And we have seen a pro-ISIS outpouring in the form of banners and slogans,” a top state police official told Kashmir Observer.
The Chief Minister is understood to have directed the police and its intelligence arms to investigate the matter without causing an public outcry against night raids and random arrests. This, according to sources, might have been due to his fear that a renewed crackdown on youth might not just incite more violence ahead of assembly poll but will further plummet the ruling party’s popularity.
The ISIS, now known as Islamic State -IS had seized large swathes of land in Syria and Iraq and announced Caliphate with its leader Abu Bakr-al Baghdadi as Caliph. But the lightening advance by ISIS seems to have been checked by the American military intervention, especially the aerial bombardment of ISIS targets.
Talking to media persons on the sidelines of a function early August, the GOC 15 Chinar Corps, Lt Gen Subrata Saha, said: All I can say is in a forum like this, it deserves and is getting the highest security concerns from all of us.
Although youth from Srinagar have been using graffiti on walls for long, on July 11, Friday, which was the Quds Day , the ISIS flag made debut in Kashmir during a pro-Palestine protest outside Central Jamia Masjid in downtown city. Since then, the flags have been displayed at least five times including once in city centre Lal Chowk during pro-Palestine protest by students. On Eid day, besides ISIS flags, the flags of Al Qaeda and Taliban were waved by youth in Eidgah area of old city during clashes with police and paramilitary. At several places in Srinagar, the pro-ISIS graffiti have appeared. In Batamaloo neighborhood of Srinagar, there is a graffiti, which read: Welcome ISIS.
A defense official said there was no presence of Qaeda, ISIS or Taliban in Kashmir. But many youth in Kashmir are embracing their ideology. A large number of youths are getting radicalized. The Northern Command General, also expressed similar concern during his previous trip to Kashmir.
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