Al Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri appeals to terrorists in Kashmir to inflict unrelenting blows on Indian Army

The video message has been titled as "Don't Forget Kashmir".  Al Qaeda’s media arm, As Sahab,  released the video message from Ayman al-Zawahiri.

The al Qaeda chief says that he is “of the view that the Mujahideen in Kashmir- at this stage at least- should single-mindedly focus on inflicting unrelenting blows on the Indian Army and government, so as to bleed the Indian economy and make India suffer sustained losses in manpower and equipment.”, according to Long Wall Journal.

Zawahiri calls Pakistan's army and government as "toadies of America" and says terrorists should avoid falling in Pakistan's trap, reported the news channel.

Pakistan's "conflict with India is essentially a secular rivalry over borders managed by the American intelligence," the Qaeda chief is quoted as sayign in the video.

According to Long Wall Journal, Zawahiri said the mujahideen must “liberate the Kashmiri jihad from the clutches of Pakistan’s intelligence agencies,” such that the jihad is “for the sake of Allah” (meaning for the purpose of implementing sharia) as opposed to a struggle “for the sake of international criminals.”

“After achieving this liberation,” Zawahiri says, “the Mujahideen must plan their jihad by taking free and independent decisions that are guided by the principles of sharia.” This is the same as Lelhari’s call for an independent shura council, it said.

Kashmir witnessed a massive terror attack this year when on Feb 14 at least 42 Indian paramilitary forces were killed during a terror attack in Pulwama area. The attack led to India launching surgical strikes in Pakistan territory across the border.

Image: Long Wall Journal