New Delhi: Al-Badr, which was formed to operate in Jammu and Kashmir, has, over the years, faded away. Its revival plans in recent months, too, hit a roadblock when its top commander in Pakistan, Hamza Burhan, was killed.
The Indian agencies, however, warn that it would be wrong to write off the outfit, and recent intercepts suggest that Al-Badr, along with the Hizbul Mujahideen, are planning a joint comeback in Jammu and Kashmir.
The coming together of these two outfits suits Pakistan’s narrative as both are homegrown, and their cadres largely comprise operatives from Jammu and Kashmir. Many years back, several people from Jammu and Kashmir left India for Pakistan. They would visit Pakistan under the pretext of pursuing their education. However, in reality, it was a plan by the ISI to get them into Pakistan, train them and then place them back in the Valley to carry out terror attacks.
An Intelligence Bureau official said that the killing of Burhan is no doubt a setback. Al-Badr realises that it cannot operate on its own as it has no required strength and traction. However, with the Hizbul Mujahideen by its side, it can make a comeback in the Valley.
While a large number of people in these outfits would be those from Kashmir who had crossed over several years back, both these outfits are also not averse to recruiting from Pakistan.
Another official said that both the Hizbul Mujahideen and Al-Badr realise that they need more operatives on their side. In recent months, it has been noticed that both these groups have been reaching out to disgruntled cadres from Jaish-e-Mohammed. There are also inputs that unhappy cadres of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, too, have been in touch with the Hizbul leadership.
Both terror groups are trying to exploit the faultiness within the Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed, which were the hardest hit during Operation Sindoor. Recruiting from these two groups could eventually lead to a turf war, but that is a risk the ISI is willing to take for now.
For the ISI, the top priority is resuming operations in Jammu and Kashmir. For this, it has been focusing more on having a homegrown terror group so that it can have a deniability factor every time there is a strike in the Valley, the official added. In the scheme of things, a combination of the Hizbul Mujahideen and Al-Badr works perfectly for the ISI, the official added. Both are well-versed with the Valley, and the fact that they would operate with local operatives also makes operations homegrown.
The agencies point out that resumption of terror activities in Jammu and Kashmir by a homegrown group is far more dangerous when compared to operations that are undertaken by either the Jaish-e-Mohammed or Lashkar-e-Taiba. The Hizbul Mujahideen, in particular, can still draw traction in the Valley. Although it may not be on the scale that it used to draw traction when the likes of Burhan Wani were alive and operating, the outfit still has a draw in certain parts of the Valley.
In fact, both these groups were readying to relaunch in Jammu and Kashmir. Hamza Burhan was in fact recruiting youth for Al-Badr and Hizbul Mujahideen’s Kashmir operations. He was a specialist in the poster war and was planning a major propaganda drive. The poster war is part of a major strategy by both Al-Badr and Hizbul Mujahideen, as it is aimed at radicalising and also mobilising the youth. The posters that these persons were planning to put up were more around the abrogation of Article 370 and the so-called injustice meted out to youth as a result of this decision that was taken in 2019.
The bonhomie between Al-Badr and Hizbul Mujahideen was seen as recently as last week. The leaders and cadres, apart from ISI officials, stood in solidarity together at the funeral of Hamza Burhan. The funeral was also attended by Zameen Bakht and Syed Salahuddin, the respective chiefs of Al-Badr and Hizbul Mujahideen, respectively, an official added.
(IANS)
