Kashmir militant leader announced as head of new al-Qaida-linked cell

Zakir Musa, currently one of the most prominent faces of the militancy in Kashmir, has been named by the al-Qaeda as the head of its first branch in Jammu and Kashmir, according to London based newspaper 'The Guardian'.

The appointment of Zakir Musa as head of the new group represents the first time militants linked to al-Qaida have operated openly in Kashmir, site of a decades-long separatist insurgency and the only Muslim-majority region under Indian control.

Musa, 23, is the leading figure among a new generation of militants who have exploited social media and growing disillusionment among Kashmiris to revitalise the insurgency against Indian control of the region.

The new cell, named Ansar Ghawzat-Ul-Hind, is the deepest inroad al-Qaida has yet made in Kashmir. A 2014 video called on "brothers" there to wage jihad against Indian authorities.

The creation of the group was announced by Global Islamic Media Front, an al-Qaida-affiliated information network.

Kashmir, a former princedom divided between India and Pakistan and claimed by both, has been the scene of an insurgency opposed to Indian rule since 1989.

Though Islamist militants have previously operated in Kashmir, they have been regarded as proxies of Pakistan rather than grassroots jihadist movements.

Al-Qaida announced the establishment of an Indian wing in 2014 but, like Isis, has garnered little support among India's Muslim population, the third largest of any country in the world.

However, in recent years analysts have been detecting an ideological shift among local militants towards the worldview of both jihadist groups.

In 2015 Burhan Wani, another popular fighter, called for a "caliphate [to be] established in Kashmir". After Wani's death last year, his successor Musa sharpened the rhetoric further, declaring in April that Kashmiris should not "fall for nationalism" - the traditional goal of the separatist movement.

"I see that many people in Kashmir are engaged in a war of nationalism, which is forbidden in Islam," Musa said. The fight in the region should "not be for the sake of Kashmir", he added. "It should be exclusively for Islam so that sharia is established here."

Another video released by Musa's group in April attacked Pakistan for the first time, declaring: "There is no Islam [there] at present, so we are unhappy with it. We have to do jihad with Pakistan as well."

Musa's increasing alignment with al-Qaida is likely to deepen divisions between local militants and an older generation of separatist leaders in Kashmir.

Kashmir's traditional separatist leadership has been at pains to distance the movement from groups such as al-Qaida and Isis, saying in May they had "nothing to do with our struggle and are non-existent in Jammu and Kashmir".

An alliance of separatist leaders has yet to respond to the announcement of the new group. Ansar Ghawzat-Ul-Hind said on Thursday it expected to release another statement this week.

The formation of the group comes at a time of increased tension in Kashmir after another summer of protests in which Musa's name has been frequently invoked.

Local sympathy for the militants, who number around 210, is thought to have grown in recent years as hopes for political dialogue with Delhi have languished. The Hindu nationalist government of Narendra Modi has pursued a harder security line in the restive state.

Nearly 100 civilians were killed in months of protests last year that followed Wani's death at the hands of Indian security forces. Turnout at elections in April was a record low. Eight Hindu pilgrims were killed this month when their bus came under fire from militants.