MHA designates as terrorist a prominent IS recruiter born in Jammu and Kashmir
Aijaz Ahmad Ahanger, alias Abu Usman Al-Kashmiri, one of the top recruiters for the Islamic State of Jammu and Kashmir (ISJK), is now believed to be stationed in Afghanistan and has been sought in J&K for more than two decades, according to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
Aijaz’s name appeared on the radar after Afghan security officials initiated an inquiry into the March 25, 2020 attack on a gurdwara in Kabul, according to intelligence authorities.
The MHA announcement claimed, “Aijaz was designated head of the Islamic State (IS) recruitment unit for India and was responsible in launching an online ISIS propaganda magazine focused on India. Since more than two decades, he has been a wanted terrorist in Jammu and Kashmir, where he has begun planning terror-related strategies by establishing coordination channels between various terrorist organisations.
The statement stated that Aijaz was born in Srinagar’s Nawakadal in 1974 and is currently residing in Afghanistan. According to the document, he is one of the ISJK’s key recruiters.
The notification added, “Aijaz has close ties with Al-Qaeda and other global terrorist organisations, is reviving Islamic State networks in India, and is seeking to bolster militancy in Kashmir.” The MHA stated that he had “begun identifying individuals for inclusion in his Kashmir-based network.”
The MHA declared that Aijaz has been labelled as a terrorist under the UAPA of 1967. With his placement in the Fourth Schedule of the UAPA, Ahanger will become the fifty-first individual identified as a terrorist, according to the document.
