SRINAGAR: Zakir Rashid Bhat, a close aide of slain Hizb commander Burhan Wani, has posted a video message asking youths to snatch weapons from government forces if they wanted to join the militant ranks.
Dressed in military fatigues, Bhat – flanked by rifles on left and right – could be been seen fiddling with a hand grenade while encouraging the youths to snatch rifles from forces.
The message has appeared on social media networks on a day five rifles were snatched from cops guarding a TV tower in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district.
“Many of our brothers have taken the path of ‘jihad’ and joined our ranks by snatching weapons. All those brothers who want to join us, they should snatch weapons. We would welcome them with open arms,” says Bhat, in the video.
The former engineering student also makes mention of Sikhs and brothers in his video message.
Calling for an exclusive outfit of Sikhs, Bhat said that he has received requests from many Sikhs youths who want to join them to avenge the “killing of 12000 Sikhs during Operation Bluestar in Punjab”.
“We have received many requests from our oppressed Sikh brothers to let them join us. We are with them on every front. God willing, we will try and make an exclusive group for Sikhs,” says Zakir while requesting Pandits to return to Kashmir.
“Our Kashmiri Pandit brothers should return to their homes. We take responsibility of their safety. They should look at those Pandits who never left Kashmir and have not faced any problems here at all,” he says.
Zakir Rashid Bhat is a new Hizbul Mujahideen commander in Kashmir. He was appointed the Commander after the death of former commander of Hizbul Mujahideen Burhan Muzaffar Wani, which lead the current unrest in Kashmir. He issued his first video in Kashmir in August, 2016. He belongs to the new breed of tech savvy, well educated militants who joined the armed struggle after 2010 Kashmir unrest.
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