Meddle with Article 35A and prepare for the worst says Hizbul chief

Srinagar, Feb 26: The Hizbul Mujahideen chief in the Kashmir Valley, Riyaz Naikoo has issued another warning and this time it is regarding Article 35A. He has asked people to be ready for a major battle if the Article is tampered with.

He further asked the Jammu and Kashmir police not to come in the way of a peoples' movement. The special status should not be meddled with and the J&K police should not stand in the way of what the people of the state want, he also said.

In an audio clip that runs into 8 minutes, he says that India wants to tamper with Article 35A. The Article is our identity and I want to tell the people whatever has to happen, would happen all in one shot.

We have to make a sacrifice. Why don't we all do it at once, he said. The Article is as important for you as it for the people of the state, he said while addressing the police of the state.

The unverified clip comes just five days after Naikoo had issued a warning to all non-local labourers in the state. He had said that the Army should be taken back and that is the only solution.

The operational chief of the Hizbul Mujahideen, Riyaz Naiko had said in a 17 minute audio clip that those people who are regretting the killing of soldiers and calling us terrorists should know that since 2018 alone India killed more than 400 people.

In the wake of reports suggesting that Kashmiris are being targeted in different parts of the country, Naiko has threatened to kill non-local labourers.

He also praised the Pulwama bomber Adil Ahmad Dar. He also went on to warn against attacks on Kashmiris outside the Valley. However the worrying part of his audio message is that he has warned of fidayeen strikes in the Valley.

The Hizbul Mujahideen has so far refrained from carrying out fidayeen strikes. Naiko says in the message (yet to be verified) the time is not far when children in Kashmir will wear suicide vests and target security forces in the Valley.