After the killing of Riyaz Naikoo, Hizbul Mujahideen has reportedly appointed 26-year-old Saifullah Mir aka Ghazi Haider as the new chief of the indigenous militant outfit in Jammu and Kashmir.
Mir’s appointment to lead the Hizbul was announced by Saleem Hashmi, Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) based spokesperson of the outfit. Hashmi, also named Zafar-ul-Islam, has been appointed as deputy to Mir while another militant, Abu Tariq Bhai, was nominated as his chief military adviser.
Mir, a 12th standard pass out, who hails from Malangpora in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district, was a close aide of Naikoo and was given the name Ghazi Haider. Naikoo, who had taken over as chief of the Hizbul in early 2017, was killed by security forces last Wednesday in his native village Bighpora in Pulwama. Naikoo was one of the longest surviving militants in Kashmir and was active since 2012.
Mir, who also goes by ‘Doctor Saif’ code name because he treated injured militants, was recruited by Naikoo in 2014 and came on the radar of security agencies in 2017. According to police records, Mir was the so-called district commander of the Hizbul in Pulwama before being elevated as so-called chief after the death of his mentor Naikoo.
Formed in 1989, the Hizbul is one of the largest and oldest militant groups operating in Kashmir. The outfit is led by Specially Designated Global Terrorist Mohammad Yusuf Shah, also known as Syed Salahuddin, who is based in the PoK.
A senior police officer told DH that after Naikoo’s death, Junaid Ashraf Sehrai (30), son of Ashraf Sehrai, a successor of hardline separatist leader Syed Ali Geelani, is the only known face still active in Kashmir. “The Hizbul would have appointed him as the new chief, but as he would have come in the radar of security agencies, the outfit decided to appoint Ghazi Haider,” he said.
“The other reason for appointing Ghazi Haider as chief is that he is familiar with Riyaz Naikoo’s network and activities to raise funds and recruit local boys into the militancy.