Why is Hizbul Mujahideen lying about Pathankot attack?

Pathankot, Jan 21: India is not attaching any credence to the statements made by Syed Salahuddin, the Hizbul Mujahideen chief who has claimed responsibility for the Pathankot attack. It is a desperate statement on his part says an officer part of the investigations into the Pathankot case.

Salahuddin, the chief of the Hizbul Mujahideen in an interview to an Urdu news portal based in Pakistan had claimed responsibility for the Pathankot attack. He also said that this attack was not aimed derailing the dialogue between India and Pakistan. He further stated in the interview that the Pathankot attack was part of their continued activity to target the Indian military.

The Hizbul Mujahideen needs attention:

The battle for the Hizbul Mujahideen has not been exactly hunky dory in Kashmir. It has attempted various things such as online campaigns and on many counts even replicated the style of the ISIS. Officers in India say that the claims by the Hizbul Mujahideen chief is just aimed at gaining some publicity and breathing life into the sagging morale of his soldiers.

It is very clear from the Pathankot attack that it had the signature of the Jaish-e-Mohammad and we are not taking his statements seriously the officer also added. There are many stake holders in the Kashmir battle today and the Hizbul Mujahideen feels that it is losing out to groups such as the JeM and the Lashkar-e-Tayiba.

What one must understand is that the JeM had left pamphlets in the car of the Punjab Superintendent of Police, Salwinder Singh which clearly quoted the name of Afzal Guru. This was just aimed at stoking passions in Kashmir. Moreover the Pathankot attack was a "spectacular" one and any terrorist group would like to claim responsibility for the same, the officer also added.

The probe is focused entirely on the JeM and every bit of evidence points to the hand of the outfit. Moreover Pakistan too is probing the Pathankot attack and have said that there is a hand of the JeM. In this context the claims by Salahuddin are just aimed at gaining some publicity, Indian officials say.

OneIndia News