Love, sex and dhoka in Kashmir

With Zakir Musa's killing, security forces have recorded an extremely important kill in the battle against Islamic fundamentalism in the Valley, in the main south Kashmir where the jungles are now being used to train local youth.

Musa, a by-product of generation X, is a neophyte who grew up in turbulence and turmoil and experienced the so-called 'azadi' struggle first-hand, but chose the path of 'sharia' instead, brainwashed as he was by Wahabi Salafism indoctrination.

Zakir Rashid Bhat, 25, was trapped by security forces in a three-storey house in southern Kashmir late on Thursday and to flush him out, the house was set ablaze during the operation.

Bhat or Musa, a former commander of the Hizbul Mujahideen, the largest of the militant groups fighting against Indian rule in Kashmir, founded his own group and declared its association with al Qaeda in 2017.

Caught between two lovers, one of whom snitched to the intel network which moved with alacrity to pin Musa down and kill him.

Apparently, poster boy Burhan Wani and Samir Tiger too died because their ex-lovers squealed to police snitches and gave them the exact location of the prey.

This is a major downside and new IG Kashmir S P Pani is meticulously using his intel network to nail these terrorists one by one.

The most dangerous element is that stone pelters are seamlessly migrating to weaponised militancy.

The age group of 12-20 is most vulnerable to this phenomenon. The next big thing after Musa's extermination is Riyaz Naikoo.

Riyaz Naikoo, 33, carries a reward of Rs 12 lakh on his head. He now replaces Zakir Musa as the most wanted militant commander in the Valley after Musa's death.

Naikoo is the most senior commander of the pro-Pakistan Hizbul Mujahideen or HM.

The re-emergence of local subscription is what is most worrying for the Indian security apparatus.

ISI C Wing too has realised that the jihad complex which it has nurtured inside Pakistan to use to foment terror in the Valley may well see a change in strategy for local youth have fallen prey to Islamic ideology which goes beyond the call for azadi.