In the Taliban’s victory at Kabul, Al-Qaeda has a loud message on Jammu and Kashmir

New Delhi, Sep 01: It is a well known fact that the Al-Qaeda has been trying to set its foothold in Jammu and Kashmir. It has formed multiple units with the help of those who are disgruntled with groups such as the Hizbul Mujahideen.

Now with the Taliban taking over Afghanistan, the Al-Qaeda has called for the liberation of Jammu and Kashmir. While congratulating the Taliban for its victory, the Al-Qaeda has also called for the liberation of other so-called Islamic lands from the clutches of the enemies.

"0' Allah! Liberate the Levant, Somalia, Yemen, Kashmir and the rest of the Islamic lands from the clutches of the enemies of Islam. 0' Allah! Grant freedom to Muslim prisoners across the world.

Congratulations to the Islamic Ummah on the victory granted by Allah in Afghanistan," the Al-Qaeda said in a statement.

The bonhomie between Al-Qaeda and Taliban is no secret. It was because of the Al-Qaeda that the US decided to wage a war in Afghanistan in the first place. The Taliban had sheltered Osama Bin Laden, the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks due to which the US decided to strike in Afghanistan.

With the Al-Qaeda losing traction in the rest of the world, it decided to launch the Al-Qaeda in the Sub-Continent (AQIS) with Asim Umar, a man with a Uttar Pradesh origin as its chief. The AQIS was backed by the Taliban in a big way, but the outfit did not manage to get the desired traction.

The Al-Qaeda's plans for Jammu and Kashmir is nothing news. In March 2020, it decided to rename its online publication Nawai Afghan Jihad as Nawai Ghazwa-e-Hind. This was a clear indicator that the outfit wished to focus more on India. The magazine also referred to the February 29 deal between the Taliban and US and the same was termed as a spectacular victory.

In Jammu and Kashmir, the Al-Qaeda operates as Ansar Ghazwatul Hind. Investigations conducted in July 2021 revealed that the outfit was preparing a set of human bombs and had intended on striking in Uttar Pradesh. Several other probe agencies also learnt that the first priority would be to take over Kashmir. During the recruitment drives, it would be pointed out that once Kashmir is taken over the entire map of the country could be changed. It was also pointed out that in Kashmir, the Muslims were fighting the Hindus even before the birth of Pakistan. The recruits were told that Islam and Kashmir and Islam and Pakistan are not separate.

The question now is will the Taliban back an Al-Qaeda led operation in Jammu and Kashmir. Experts OneIndia spoke with said that if the Taliban decides to honour the deal with the US, then it would be slow in supporting the Al-Qaeda. However, the Taliban has for years backed the AQ and this is unlikely to change for now. It would provide the AQ a safe haven and a forum to regroup as well as launch its cadres. Like the Lashkar-e-Tayiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad, the AQ too would use the Taliban victory to boost its cadres and try to further its agenda in Jammu and Kashmir, a senior official pointed out.