Sultan M Hali
CHIEF of Hizbul Mujahideen and Kashmiri Freedom Fighter, Riaz Naikoo has been martyred. According to reports, Riyaz Naikoo was slain inside his village in Pulwama, India- occupied Kashmir (IoK). Riyaz was the son of a tailor, coming from a very humble background. He had a degree in mathematics and also taught the children of his village in their school. Like many others, Riyaz, lived a normal life in the IoK till the Indian Army started treating the people of Kashmir like animals. The brutality by the Indian forces was unleashed on the hapless Kashmiris because they had raised their voice for their rights, assured to them by the UN but never fulfilled by India. In 2010, when a young boy from Kashmir was killed, Naikoo was first seen protesting for him. As a result, he was arrested by the Indian Army and subjected to torture. After seeing no change in the fate of his poor brethren in Kashmir, Riyaz opted to pick up the gun. In 2017, after the martyrdom of Hizbul chief Burhan Wani, it was Riyaz Naikoo who assumed the mantle of Chief.
For three years, Riyaz worked hard to give his people their rights. The Indian Army was so scared of Naikoo that they surrounded his village from kilometers away. They were planning for ages to trap him. According to reports, underground paths and tunnels were dug up to stop Riyaz from escaping. Such was his fear that it took more than 100 Indian Army personnel to take his life. The Indian Army had placed a bounty of Rs. 12 Lac Indian rupees on Riyaz Naikoo’s head. He was not involved in any malicious activity, but such was the fear implanted in the minds of Indian security forces, that there was mass rejoicing after he was treacherously eliminated. Riyaz’s death will now be used as a banner of huge success by the Indians.
It is also being said that it was Riyaz who reignited the spirit of paying tribute to fallen Kashmiri brethren, who got Shahadat fighting for the rights of their people. Naikoo’s tragic death might not be the best time for Kashmiris, but just as before, they will continue their struggle. Indian forces forget that each time they brutally assassinate a youthful leader, ten others rise to keep the emblem of demand for sovereignty flying high. It is high time that the UN and the rest of the world takes the Indians to task for their atrocities in Kashmir. One day, Kashmir will have its aspirations of freedom come true. Naikoo was born in Beighpora, a village in Awantipura tehsil, south Kashmir in 1985. Some of his relatives have said that he had a passion for painting, especially roses, during his school and college days, after a degree in mathematics he became a Math teacher at a nearby school. He was bespectacled. He gave free tuitions to children from economically weaker backgrounds. During the 2010 Intifada he was incarcerated by the security forces. On 1 June 2012 he disappeared and resurfaced with a gun. In the next five years he lived the life of a freedom fighter and rose to become the Jammu and Kashmir commander (de facto chief) after the martyrdom of Burhan Wani.
In 2018, police detained his 70-year-old father. In retaliation family members of police were kidnapped by freedom fighters from across south Kashmir. His father was soon released and the 11 hostages were accordingly let go by Naikoo. J&K Police had alleged that he would “loot orchard owners” though it was never confirmed and no one supported this false slander. He started the practice of offering gun salutes to militants killed in encounters and posting it on the social media. He was responsible for recruiting “scores of young Kashmiris in an armed quest for independence from India”. Police say he rarely used mobiles, used a VPN when he had to and is known to have used ‘Bat Messenger’ to communicate. His videos were circulated on the social media; one such video after the revocation of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir showed him saying that the revocation was “irrelevant to us” and the fight would continue. Naikoo’s last audio message in April was related to the COVID-19 pandemic where he requested people to follow medical advice to keep themselves protected.
As a precautionary measure to curb the spread of news, government authorities imposed communications and information blackout by barring internet and mobile services across Kashmir Valley right after Naikoo’s martyrdom. On 10 May 2020, Dr Saifullah aka Gazi Haider replaced Riyaz Naikoo as the new operations commander. India’s illegal occupation of Kashmir, its annexation of IoK and continued suppression of human rights will not dampen the spirits of the freedom fighters. The sacrifice of over 100,000 precious lives will not go in vain. Riaz Naikoo’s bravery was acknowledged even by his detractors. Security forces have built a two-story bunker at the trijunction of the new highway that leads to South Kashmir. There is also heavy deployment of forces along the highway with authorities checking vehicles and questioning passengers about their travel plans. All communication channels continue to remain blocked in vast parts of South Kashmir with Internet Service suspended across the Valley. The struggle of the Kashmiris will go on but the world needs to take cognizance of the brutality unleashed on the IoK.
—The writer is retired PAF Group Captain and a TV talk show host.
