south-asian-militant-groups-and-global-jihad-in-2015

NEW AG EN T S OF GLOB AL JIHAD
Jammu and Kashmir
1. In theory, Kashmir-oriented jihadists operate under the umbrella of the
United Jihad Council (UJC). However, several offshoot members are
significant in their own right, and occasionally fight each other. As such,
the UJC does not have the power to control them, and is of questionable
importance in directing their actions.
Numerous UJC members have strong links with AQ, as well as with
IS.
UJC regularly changes its position on the Kashmir issue, moving
from pro-accession to Pakistan, to a pro-separatist stance.
Its principle relevance comes from its close ties to the All Parties
Hurriyat Conference, the principle political organ advocating
Kashmiri separatism.
UJC is officially headed by Syed Salahuddin, who is also the leader
of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen.
Militants that operate within the UJC and declare J&K status a
principle motivation do not only operate there; many operate in
Pakistan and simply carry out attacks in Kashmir.
2. Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM) is an influential terrorist group that redefines
the ‘Kashmir question’ as one of Islamic identity:
HM initially gained Kashmiri Muslim support for its Islamist
message, but the group’s condemnatory stance on Sufi traditions
such as praying at shrines alienated some of its following.
Despite setbacks, HM is a well-disciplined, well trained force. Its
most recent activity includes nineteen attacks on hard targets in
India in 2013. 8
The group has roughly 1,500 fighters. 9
HM is purportedly funded by numerous charities, through a system
of hawala and cash couriers. Jammu and Kashmir Affectees Relief
Trust (JKART) is said to have funded approximately $16 million. 10
HM also has a female wing, Dukhtaran-e-Millat (Daughters of the
Faith) who run an Islamic relief organisation. 11
They have recently been accused of being behind the intimidation
and shutdown of J&K’s telecommunication sector, an allegation
they deny. Another suspect is a new and little known group,
Lashkar-e-Islam (this group is unrelated to the TTP offshoot of the
same name) 12 .
15