On 30th October, Lashkar-e-Taiba-affiliated terror outfit The Resistance Front (TRF) took responsibility for the murder of migrant worker Mukesh from Uttar Pradesh and the attack on Inspector Masroor Ahmed Wani in Srinagar.
The attack on the police official took place on 29th October when he was playing cricket at Eidgah ground. On the other hand, the attack on the migrant labourer took place on 30th October when he went out to buy vegetables. Mukesh was a poor labourer who worked in a brick kiln. Journalist Aditya Raj Kaul shared screenshots of the statement released by TRF.
#BREAKING: Pakistani terror group Lashkar E Tayyiba’s TRF claims responsibility for attacking Srinagar SHO Masroor yesterday and today killing Hindu Migrant labourer Mukesh Kumar in Pulwama. Pakistan continues to target Kashmiris and innocent civilians in Kashmir valley. pic.twitter.com/3EJhdjQjz5
— Aditya Raj Kaul (@AdityaRajKaul) October 30, 2023
Notably, the language used by TRF is strikingly similar to the Palestinian terrorist organisation Hamas, which initiated the largest terror attack on Israel on 7th October, killing 1,300 Israelis and foreign nationals and abducting over 200.
In its statement, TRF accused Masroor Ahmad Wani of being an agent of the Indian government. The terrorist organisation accused Mukesh of helping the Indian government in strengthening its grip on Kashmir. The terror outfit claimed that the people who come to Kashmir to work as labourers help the Indian government to increase its control of the region.
Furthermore, the terrorist organisation asserted that it would not allow such actions to continue, and it would deal with those who support the government trying to establish control over Jammu and Kashmir.
Striking similarities between TRF and Hamas language
It is noteworthy that the language used in the note by the terrorist organisation TRF has striking similarities to the language used by Hamas. Similar to TRF, Hamas depicts Israel as an “unlawful occupier” and justifies the murders of Israeli citizens. Furthermore, the supporters of Hamas terrorists (Islamic extremists and leftists) also use similar language against Israel.
These individuals and organisations who support Hamas often label the killing of Jews as permissible and depict Hamas as a “force fighting for freedom”. Not to forget, the Indian National Congress (INC) ally, the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), also regards Hamas as a resistance force rather than a terrorist organisation.
Here are some examples of the language used by Hamas supporters. So-called journalist Sameera Khan said in a post on X, “Israel is the occupier. Palestine is occupied. No ifs, ands, or buts.”
Israel is the occupier.
— Sameera Khan (@SameeraKhan) October 24, 2023
Palestine is the occupied.
No ifs, ands, or buts.
In his address, Turkey’s President Erdogan called Israel an occupier and claimed Israel would be declared a war criminal.
Deputy General Sec, Muslim Council of Britain Mohammed Kozbar, who is an advisor for for UK’s Crown Prosecution Services (CPS) “scrutiny panel” on hate crimes, had praised Hamas’s founder as “the master of the martyrs of the resistance.” He had blamed Hindus for the Leicester violence in the past.
Meet Mohammed Kozbar, Deputy General Sec,Muslim Council of Britain. He is an advisor for UK's Crown Prosecution Services (CPS) "scrutiny panel" on hate crimes. He praised Hamas's founder as "the master of the martyrs of the resistance." MCB blamed Hindus for #Leicester violence. pic.twitter.com/ceyPB33CUi
— Stop Hindu Hate Advocacy Network (SHHAN) (@HinduHate) October 31, 2023
Hamas has argued that the murder of innocent Israelis and foreign nationals during the 7th October Terrorist Attack was justifiable as it was part of their struggle against the “occupation of Palestine” by the Israeli forces.
On a similar note, TRF, which is located thousands of kilometres away from Israel and Palestine, is using the same rhetoric to justify the murder of a poor labourer who went from Uttar Pradesh to Kashmir to earn a livelihood. These migrant labourers are helping to rebuild Kashmir, but terrorist organisations like TRF do not want to see the valley progress like the rest of the country is progressing and developing.
On 28th October, the “five Palestinian groups” that Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command (PFLP-GC) and Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) issued a joint statement. These terrorist organisations, who called themselves “Palestinian powers”, emphasised that they were committed to escalating all forms of resistance against Israel that they described as the “Zionist enemy.”
They expressed solidarity with the people of Gaza, who they believe are facing an organised campaign of “extermination”. They pledged to continue the path of “resistance” until victory is achieved over Israel. The statement called for unity among Palestinians and urged support from the Islamic and Arab world. They condemned the United States for its role in the conflict and demanded the opening of the Rafah crossing.
Now, the last paragraph of the statement issued by TRF read, “The Occupier Regime and its stooges/collaborators will be dealt with an iron fist. This fire will even engulf the whole Occupier Indian states.” There is a similarity between fighting the so-called “occupier”, which in the case of Hamas is Israel, and in the case of Kashmir is India in the eyes of the terrorists.
Terror attacks by TRF
TRF, or The Resistance Front, has been actively initiating terror attacks in Kashmir. In September 2023, the terror outfit took responsibility for the Anantnag attack in which Colonel Manpreet Singh and Major Ashish Dhonak of the Indian Army and Deputy Superintendent of Jammu and Kashmir Police Humayun Bhat were martyred. The organisation claimed the attack was to take revenge for the killing of the terrorist Riyaz Ahmad alias Abu Qasim by unidentified gunmen inside the Al-Qudus mosque in Rawalkot of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Recently, there have been increasing attacks on non-Muslim labourers working in Kashmir. In July 2023, three labourers from Bihar were killed in Kashmir. In October 2022, two labourers from Uttar Pradesh who had gone to Kashmir were also killed.
In October 2021, TRF took responsibility for killing two non-Muslim teachers in Srinagar school. They accused the teachers of asking students to attend Independence Day celebrations.
