Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Zakir Musa in an audio messaged had threatened separatists
In signs of a rift within the terrorist outfit in Kashmir, the Hizbul Mujahideen leadership in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir has distanced itself from its commander's threat to "chop off" the heads of Hurriyat leaders.
The Hizbul's statement issued from Muzaffarabad came a day after Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Zakir Musa reportedly put out an audio message attacking Hurriyat leaders. He had threatened to "chop off and hang their heads" in Lal Chowk "for interfering in their struggle for Islam".
It said Musa's remarks were his "personal opinion".
Musa's audio had taken offence to a joint statement by Hurriyat leaders such as Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umer Farooq and Yasin Malik in which they declared that the struggle in Kashmir did not have anything to do with ISIS, Al-Qaida and other such organisation.
"The outfit has neither got anything to do with the statement of Musa nor is the statement acceptable to it," the Hizbul spokesman Saleem Hashmi said. "Any statement or step which will create confusion can prove a death knell for our struggle and," the Hizbul man said.
A Director General of Police SP Vaid had told PTI that the police had carried out a voice analysis and found that it was Zakir Musa's voice in the audio clip.
In an another audio clip, emerged today after the statement from the Hizbul group, Musa has said that he stands by what he said about the separatists.
Earlier this week, the Hizbul terrorists kidnapped a young army officer Ummer Fayaz, a Kashmiri, from a family wedding and killed him. He was shot multiple times. At his funeral, there was anger among locals at the killing of one of their own, in contrast to the support that has been evident for terrorists.