Hizb poster says commander got two members killed

Copies of a handwritten poster of banned militant outfit Hizb-ul Mujahideen have surfaced in parts of the Kashmir Valley this week, blaming one of its commanders for conspiring to get his colleagues killed.

A month after the confusion over the arrest of Hizb militant Tariq Pandit, the poster in Urdu said that the militant had surrendered and was involved in the killing of two commanders, Naseer Pandit and Waseem Malla.

The poster, on the Hizb letterhead with the stamp of the local divisional commander, alleged that Pandit and his family were paid Rs 45 lakh by security forces for information on the militants’ whereabouts.

Inspector general of police, Kashmir range, Javed Mujtaba Jillani declined to comment on the poster’s authenticity.

ARREST OR SURRENDER?

On May 28, hours after claiming that Pandit had surrendered before security agencies, police said he had been arrested.

The poster asked Pandit’s family to compensate those injured in the encounter. “How we deal with the family will be decided later,” it said.

PANDIT IS BURHAN’S AIDE

Pandit is an aide of Hizb commander Burhan Wani and features in photos posted on social media, showing the militants in fatigues with weapons.

Many of the militants posing with Wani in the photos have been killed in encounters. Wani remains a fugitive with a reward of Rs 10 lakh on his head.

A video, shot in south Kashmir, surfaced on Sunday, showing Wani playing cricket with militants.