Battle of extremists: Hizbul threatens to ‘hang’ Hurriyat

Hizbul Mujahideen leader Zakir Musa, who succeeded Burhan Wani after the latter was killed by Indian security forces in an encounter last year, on Friday threatened the Hurriyat separatists that they would be hanged if they continued to describe Kashmir as a "political struggle" instead of an "Islamic uprising".

In a chilling audio message to separatists posted on social media, Zakir Musa, said, "Hum kufr ko chhod kar pehley aap ko latkayeingey. Lal Chowk mein inkey galey kateingey ! (Before we kill the disbelievers, we'll hang you... your heads will be chopped at Lal Chowk)."

Insisting that the 27-year-old armed movement in Kashmir was an Islamic struggle and not a political one, Musa also warned separatists not to meddle in the setting up a caliphate in J&K along the lines of Islamic State.

Hurriyat leaders like Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Yasin Malik stress on seeking the right of "self-determination" for the Kashmir people.

The Mirwaiz, who is the custodian of the Jamia Masjid in Srinagar, demands the implementation of UN resolutions of 1947 regarding Kashmir every Friday. Geelani, on the other hand, roots for Kashmir's accession to Pakistan.

Clubbing them, Musa said, "You are our big problem ... if you have to run this dirty politics, run it in your homes ... if we have to implement the shariat, we have to implement it on ourselves."

Musa, a native of terrorist-infested Tral in Pulwama district, was reportedly studying to be an engineer in a Chandigarh college before turning to terrorism in July 2016.

"I am not an ulema, but scholars here are corrupt ... fearful of crossing limits that they may be imprisoned. That is why we have to come forward," Musa said, quoting a verse from the Quran.

"They are actually political leaders and they can't be our leaders," he added. "Our fight is purely for the sake of Islam, and we shall implement the shariat in Kashmir, insha-Allah."