JeM, Lashkar asked to lie low: Pakistan re-launches Al Umar Mujahideen in Kashmir

New Delhi, June 13: An outfit known as the Al Umar Mujahideen claimed responsibility for the attack in Jammu and Kashmir in which 3 CRPF jawans were martyred.

This is the biggest attack in the Valley, following the Pulwama strike that was carried out by the Jaish-e-Mohammad.

It may be recalled that the AuM had in 2016 claimed responsibility for the attack on the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) jawans in 2016. The latest attack at Anantnag shows that the outfit is in revival mode.

The outfit was formed in the year 1989 by one Mushtaq Ahmad Zargar. It may be recalled that he was one of the terrorists who was released in 1999 in exchange for the passengers on IC 814. The case is popularly known as the Kandahar hijack case.

Zargar who initially had good relations with the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front fell out with the outfit. He then went on to form the AuM with the help of a Srinagar based cleric Maulvi Umar Farooq.

The outfit has its presence in Srinagar, Baramulla, Pulwama, Jammu and Kashmir and Muzaffarabad in Pakistan occupied Kashmir. The outfit has its headquarters at Narul in Muzaffarabad. The AuM was banned by the government of India under the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2002.

The mushrooming of this outfit takes place in the wake of a crucial hearing for Pakistan at the Financial Action Task Force. This also comes in the wake of the United Nations listing Jaish-e-Mohammad chief, Maulana Masood Azhar.

In the wake of these developments, Pakistan had advised several of its terrorists including Azhar and Lashkar-e-Tayiba boss, Hafiz Saeed to lie low. Intelligence Bureau officials says that the sudden emergence of the AuM could be seen in the wake of these developments.

Although Pakistan claims that it is dismantling the terror set ups on its soil, the fact of the matter is that it cannot let the Kashmir issue stay quiet. The AuM has been sanctioned a hit by the Pakistan army and the ISI only in the wake of the establishment asking the JeM and Lashkar to lie low.