SRINAGAR: Five days after the killing of 21-year-old Burhan Wani in an encounter with security forces, Hizbul Mujahideen on Tuesday appointed Mehmood Ghaznavi as the new commander of Kashmir.
A Hizb spokesman in a statement said Hizb command Council met under the chairmanship of outfit’s supreme commander Syed Salah-ud-Din at Muzaffarabad in Pakistan administered Kashmir (PaK) and decided to appoint new commander in Kashmir to replace Burhan.
“Salahuddin announced that Mehmood Ghaznavi would be the new Hizb commander in Kashmir,” he said.
“We won’t deprive of sacrifices to reach Burhan Wani’s mission to its logical conclusion,” he said.
Burhan, who was Hizb’s Kashmir chief and carrying a cash reward of Rs 10 lakhs, was killed in an encounter with security forces in Kokernag area of South Kashmir’s Anantnag district on Friday last.
His killing has triggered protests and clashes in Kashmir and in four days of clashes, 32 civilians were killed in security forces action on protestors while a policeman also died when an armoured vehicle he was travelling in was pushed into river by a mob in Sangam area of Kashmir.
It is not clear whether the new Kashmir commander appointed by Hizb chief is one of the associates of Burhan or is an old militant.
It was widely believed that one of the close aides of Burhan namely Zakir would be made Kashmir chief of Hizb after his death.