The mouthpiece for the international terrorist organisation Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) came out in favour of the Popular Front of India. The 20th edition of ‘Voice of Khurasan’, an English language magazine published by the Afghanistan-based Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISKP), was released in the past week. A four-page piece with the headline ‘Crackdown on Popular Front of India: Lessons for Indian Muslims’ was published in a magazine of 45 pages. The publication defended the arrest of the members of outlawed extremist organisations, The Students’ Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) and Popular Front of India (PFI), by labelling them “innocents.”
The four-page paper critiques the police administration’s actions towards PFI and SIMI. The magazine notes that during the past seven decades, violent fundamentalist Hindu governments have targeted Muslims. Following this pattern, PFI activists were arrested and banned across the country.
However, they attempted to portray it as an unjustified and illegal assault on the PFI workers. ISIS’s mouthpiece gives PFI even more accolades by stating that it has made a name for itself as an organisation that addresses the plight of Indian Muslims.
Many PFI supporters embraced the flag of Tawhid (Islamic monotheism) in various parts of the world, and many of them may have gained Shahada (martyrdom for Islam), according to this article, which extols the virtues of a fundamentalist organisation which is banned in India for indulging in anti-national activities.
According to sources, ISIS is trying to gain some foothold among the other Islamist groups and inspire them to band together for their terrorist agenda by backing PFI and making their most recent pronouncements.
The publication of the article coincides with the ongoing PFI investigation by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in Bihar.
PFI conspired to turn India into an Islamic state by 2047: Maharashtra ATS
Even after a five-year ban was placed on the activists and members of the Popular Front of India (PFI) the previous year, there has been a constant crackdown on them. Arrests are being made all around the country, from Madhya Pradesh to Maharashtra and most recently in Bihar. In its chargesheet, the Maharashtra ATS made it quite explicit that PFI members intended to bring Islamic rule to India by 2047.
The Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) mentioned a seven-page booklet titled ‘India 2047, Towards Rule of Islam in India’ that was allegedly found in Mazhar Mansoor Khan’s Vikhroli home in its 1,113-page chargesheet, which was submitted on February 2. The booklet aims to establish “Islamic rule” in India. According to the ATS, the recovered document contains instructions on how PFI members can topple the ruling dispensation.
Neelesh Purohit, a cyber intelligence analyst, says, “PFI cadre have training sessions for fighting, swording and insurgency kind of attacks. The cadre is highly radical in nature against the government. After banning PFI, the trained well-charged cadre has no option to work in the same manner which is a good chance for outfits like ISIS. As a result of which ISIS wants to mobilize PFI fighters into the organisation to start Jihad against India.” He continues, “It was suspected PFI was recruiting Indian youths for ISIS so that they could carry forward the agenda of the global terror group.”
‘Voice of Khurasan’ is a tool of ISIS which the Jihadi outfit uses to spread its message across Central and South Asia. It urges loyal adherents to carry out attacks on the group’s behalf throughout the world. This journal encourages younger extremists to support the goals of both ISIS and Al Qaeda.
