Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar

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Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar
Born	1967 (age 57–58) Srinagar, J&K, India
Organization(s)	Al-Umar Mujahideen Al-Umar Commando Force[1] Jaish-e-Mohammed Harkat-ul-Ansar
Known for	kashmiri separatism, Jihadism and founding of Al-Umar Mujahideen militant group. kidnapping of Rubaiya Sayeed[2] Released from jail as part of the Indian Airlines flight 814 hijacking hostage deal.
Political party	Hurriyat Conference
Other political affiliations	Ikhwan-ul-Muslimeen[3] Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (until 1990)
Criminal charge(s)	Mass murder, Target killing and Kidnapping[4]
Criminal penalty	Life imprisonment (for mass murder) Death (for target killing and kidnapping), overturned
Criminal status	wanted_by National Investigation Agency of India, currently Incarcerated

Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar (born 1967, also known as Mushtaq Latram) is a Kashmiri militant active in the Kashmir insurgency, and founder of the militant outfit Al-Umar Mujahideen. He spent considerable time in an Indian prison and was released in the aftermath of the Indian Airlines flight 814 hijacking. He currently lives in Pakistan.

Early life and career

Zargar grew up in the Nowhatta area of Srinagar in the Kashmir Valley. He joined the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front in 1988, encouraged by its founder Ashfaq Majeed Wani, and allegedly left for combat training in Azad Kashmir. He returned to Jammu and Kashmir in 1989.

On 8 December 1989[5] Zargar was one of the members who carried out kidnapping of Rubaiya Sayeed, the daughter of the newly appointed Home Minister of India Mufti Mohammad Sayeed. The kidnappers demanded the release of five of their comrades in exchange for Rubaiya Sayeed’s release. The government accepted their demands.

After Wani's death in March 1990, he fell out with Hamid Sheikh and Yasin Malik, Wani's successors, and in 1991 formed his own militant group which he called Al-Umar Mujahideen.

Over the years, at least three dozen murder cases were registered against Zargar in Srinagar, including for alleged killings of high-ranking Indian officers. Zargar was arrested on 15 May 1992 and imprisoned.[4] He was released from jail on 31 December 1999 as part of the Indian Airlines Flight 814 hostage deal and provided safe passage to Pakistan.[6] Shortly after Zargar revived Al-Umar Mujahideen in Muzaffarabad.[7]

Zargar was reportedly arrested by Pakistani authorities in 2002[8] but as of 2007, he is living in Muzaffarabad without any restrictions.

Terrorist designation

In March 2023, the Indian government declared the Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar an officially designated terrorist and the group Al-Umar-Mujahideen as a terrorist organization.[9]

Notes

1. "al Umar Commando Force". TRAC. 2012. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
2. "1989 Kidnapping Of Rubaiya Sayeed: Latest News, Videos and Photos of 1989 Kidnapping Of Rubaiya Sayeed | Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
3. Staniland, Paul (18 April 2014). Networks of Rebellion: Explaining Insurgent Cohesion and Collapse. Cornell University Press. p. 93. ISBN 978-0-8014-7102-5.
4. Giriraj Shah (2002). Hijacking and terror in sky. New Delhi: Anmol. p. 117. ISBN 81-261-1090-2.
5. "1989 Kidnapping Of Rubaiya Sayeed: Latest News, Videos and Photos of 1989 Kidnapping Of Rubaiya Sayeed | Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
6. Giriraj Shah (2002). Hijacking and terror in sky. New Delhi: Anmol. p. 105. ISBN 81-261-1090-2.
7. Abhinandan Mishra (27 July 2008). "India's Response To Terrorism - Are We Losing The War?". Archived from the original on 28 September 2008. Retrieved 4 August 2008.
8. "Mujahideen commander arrested - Newspaper - DAWN.COM". 23 November 2002.
9. "NIA attaches property of Pak-based terrorist Mushtaq Zargar in India". WION. 2 March 2023. Retrieved 19 January 2024.

External links

• Profile of Al-Umar Mujahideen
• Profile of Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar