Hizbul Mujahideen boss Syed Salahuddin’s move to name three terrorists from across the Line of Control to lead the terror group in Kashmir has prompted security agencies to reset the search for the outfit’s new leadership in the valley.
Riyaz Naikoo, Salahuddin’s prime point person in Kashmir till last week, was killed in a joint operation of Kashmir police and Rashtriya Rifles that traced the 32-year-old to a secret bunker in a Pulwama village, not far from the house where he lived before picking up the gun.
Salahuddin picked Ghazi Haider aka Saifullah Mir as the Hizbul’s so-called chief commander in Kashmir.
Zafarul Islam, believed to be the nom de guerre for 55-year-old Ashraf Maulvi would be Ghazi Haider’s deputy and Abu Tariq Bhai, his so-called chief military adviser.