The Ghazwa-e-Hind is a saying some Islamic traditions attribute to Prophet Muhammad, prophesying that army arising from the West will seize India for Islam before the day of judgement.
Lashkar-e-Taiba-led jihadist commanders met in Islamabad last Sunday to demand that Pakistan’s government should go to war with India to seize Kashmir, the terrorist group’s in-house magazine Jarrar reported over the weekend. “No trade with India, only Ghazwa-e-Hind (holy war to capture India),” the magazine wrote, recording the proceedings of the July 16 conference.
The meeting, arguably the largest single gathering of jihadist commanders in recent years, was held in the build-up to Supreme Court hearings on corruption charges that will decide the fate of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s government, to demand that he reverse his policies on Kashmir.
“Imperialists are trying to make enemies of Islam happy, because of which Hafiz Muhammad Saeed has been put under house arrest,” Jarrar quoted Hizbul Mujahideen chief Muhammad Yusuf Shah, also known as Syed Salahuddin, as saying. “But because of Ghazwa-e-Hind, we will not only free Kashmir, but also change the map of the subcontinent,” Shah reportedly said.
The Ghazwa-e-Hind is a saying some Islamic traditions attribute to Prophet Muhammad, prophesying that army arising from the West will seize India for Islam before the day of judgement.
The hardline polemic came amid reports of growing frustration in Shah’s Hizb, as well as other jihadist groups in Kashmir, over severe ammunition and weapons shortage — attributed by their leadership to restrictions placed by Sharif’s government on fundraising and military operations, under international pressure.
According to the Jarrar report, speakers at the conference demanded the immediate release of Saeed, the head of the Lashkar’s parent organisation, Jama’at-ud-Dawa, who has been under house arrest since February.
“Kashmiris have been fighting Hindus even before the birth of Pakistan,” Hurriyat Conference leader Mehmood Ahmad Sagar was reported by Jarrar as telling the meeting. “Islam and Kashmir, and Islam and Pakistan are not separate. The Pakistani army should intervene to free Kashmir”. His call for escalated Pakistani state support against India was seconded by Rasool Shah, also known as ‘General Abdullah’, chief of the Tehreek-ul-Mujahideen, said the report.
One infiltrator killed by Army
Srinagar: The Army foiled an infiltration bid in North Kashmir’s Machil sector and killed one infiltrator on Sunday. The Army said troops guarding the LoC noticed movement of militants and launched an operation in which one militant was killed. The operation is in progress. (ENS)
