New Delhi, Oct 3 (IANS) : Al-Umar Mujahideen, founded in December 1989 in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, has become largely defunct over the years. Its founder, Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar, also known as Mushtaq Latram, is currently based in Pakistan.
Although there is no known recent operational activity by the group, Indian agencies are keeping a close watch on Al-Umar Mujahideen in view of recent developments and reports of attempts to revive its presence in the Valley.
An Intelligence Bureau official said that the Umar Mujahideen is currently being tapped by the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) to recommence operations in Jammu and Kashmir.
Pakistan has been seeking to revive militant operations in Jammu and Kashmir, but prefers a homegrown outfit to remain at the forefront of such activities.
“The Hizbul Mujahideen, which would have been the obvious choice for such an operation, is currently not ready for the job. Moreover, almost all its operatives are working alongside the Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed in Pakistan,” the official said.
To oversee operations in J&K, the ISI had created the Kashmir Study Group. All decisions relating to Jammu and Kashmir are based on the recommendations made by this group.
Headed by two officials, who are in the ranks of a Brigadier and a Colonel in the Pakistan Army, the group studies the Valley closely and then makes suggestions to the ISI.
“The studies include the local problems that the people face and how to exploit them. It also makes recommendations to the ISI on how to use the various terror groups in Jammu and Kashmir,” the official said.
An official said that the reason why the Indian agencies are keeping a close watch on the Umar Mujahideen is because of recent recommendations that have been made by the Kashmir Study Group. It has told the ISI to merge the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Umar Mujahideen for the sake of operations in Jammu and Kashmir.
“The plan is to have the Jaish and Lashkar hold the Umar Mujahideen for some time and then let it operate individually in the Valley,” the official said.
Al-Umar Mujahideen was formed after it broke away from the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF). The reason for the breakup was that Umar Mujahideen chose a path that would pursue an Islamist-pro-Pakistan agenda explicitly, while the JKLF wanted to fight for an independent secular Kashmir.
The Kashmir Study group suggested that Umar Mujahideen be handled initially so that it can rebuild its base in Jammu and Kashmir. Moreover, this terror group will be looked at as a homegrown outfit considering its roots in Jammu and Kashmir.
Another official said that the Kashmir Study group, while suggesting the merger, deliberately advised the ISI to leave the Hizbul Mujahideen out for now.
Currently, the radar on the Hizbul Mujahideen is very high, and it was only in recent years that the Indian agencies had managed to shake up the entire ecosystem of the outfit. These incidents are fresh in the minds of the people and the agencies, and hence the scrutiny remains high.
Umar Mujahideen, on the other hand, has been almost defunct since 2006. It was in the news recently when the National Investigation Agency (NIA) attached Zargar’s properties under the anti-terror laws. Zargar had been arrested by the agencies in 1992, but was released along with other terrorists, including Masood Azhar, in exchange for hostages on the hijacked Indian Airlines Flight IC-814.
Considering the number of years that this group has been defunct in Jammu and Kashmir, the ISI felt that it would be best to revive the outfit for operations in the Valley.
Based on the recommendations of the Kashmir Study Group, the ISI is now looking to merge the JeM, LeT and Umar Mujahideen for Kashmir operations.
The Hizbul Mujahideen would only provide manpower to the LeT and JeM for now. Many Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists are waiting, along with the operatives of the Lashkar and Jaish, at multiple launchpads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
It would take some time before the Hizbul Mujahideen is given full operational control in Jammu and Kashmir.
Until then, the ISI would nurture and re-launch the Umar Mujahideen in a big way for operations in Jammu and Kashmir, the official said.
