Azhar Qadri 

The pro-Pakistan politicians, who peddled conspiracies against Zakir Musa for several years and also accused him of being an Indian agent, paid extensive tributes to the slain militant commander 

in the past three days.

The tributes were offered by separatist politicians Syed Ali Geelani, Mohammad Ashraf Sehrai and also by the Hizbul Mujahideen — all of whom had conspired against Musa in the past.

Musa, the chief of the Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind, was killed at the dawn on Friday in a gunfight in south Kashmir’s Tral sub-district. He was a rare militant in the region who had threatened to wage a war against India and also warned Pakistan against exploiting Kashmir’s militant movement, drawing the ire of pro-Pakistan groups, which had launched a smear campaign against him.

Sehrai, who replaced Geelani as the head of the Tehreek-e-Hurriyat in 2017, paid tributes to Musa after his killing and said Musa’s “sacrifice infused a high spirit in the ongoing movement”. 

In 2017, Sehrai had accused Musa of “doing India a favour”. Geelani, who is the chairman of the hardline faction of the Hurriyat Conference, also paid tributes to Musa and called for a shutdown on the second day of Musa’s killing.

The separatist leader, however, was part of the combined statement on July 29, 2017, which had weaved an elaborate conspiracy around Musa and said his organisation was part of a “deceitful game” and a “sinister design” of Indian intelligence agencies. 

The Hizbul Mujahideen of which Musa was a part before he quit it in May 2017 following an ideological debate over the aim of the militant movement also paid him a tribute. The militant outfit, however, was the first to malign Musa and doubt his credibility by linking him with an imaginary Indian plan to defame the separatist struggle.

Riyaz Naikoo, the commander of the Hizbul Mujahideen in the Kashmir valley, had openly called Musa an “enemy” for speaking against Pakistan. Naikoo, who appeared at a funeral of a fellow militant on July 30, 2017, turned the event into an anti-Musa rally.

Smear campaign

Zakir Musa was a rare militant in the region. He had threatened to wage a war against India and also warned Pakistan against exploiting Kashmir’s militant movement, drawing the ire of pro-Pakistan groups, which had launched a smear campaign against him

Courtesy:The Tribune,May 27,2019