A day after Jammu and Kashmir Police Director General S.P. Vaid taunted Lashkar-e-Taiba by saying that nobody wanted to fill the vacancies after the deaths of top commanders of the outfit, Lashkar named Mehmood Shah as its new chief for Kashmir.
The group said Abu Ismael, who was recently killed in a police encounter along with his accomplice, was only a commander and not the chief commander.
Lashkar spokesman Dr Abdullah Ghaznawi, in a statement, said that for India to get their hands on the Lashkar chief, they must sacrifice a lot.
"We would like to inform the DGP that our commanding hierarchy will not make sense to the Indian forces," Ghaznawi said. ''We don't thrive upon status, but performance''.
''You will soon witness the wrath of the commander replacing Shaheed Abu Ismael,” Ghaznawi warned.
He said the youth of Kashmir had the passion and goodwill to join the ranks of Lashkar.
"India itself is witness to the love, harmony, and mutual understanding between the local population and Mujahideen," the Lashkar spokesman said. ''They have opted for the guns as their last resort to win their freedom. They shall have their freedom at all costs.”
Yesterday, after inaugurating Jashan-e-Dal, a water sports event for the children at Dal Lake, Vaid, in reply to a question about Zeenat-ul-Islam having replaced Abu Ismael as Lashkar chief, had said: “What is in a name? I have heard the vacancy of the commander is yet to be filled in LeT. And nobody is ready to take it.''
He said 'Operation All Out', which aims to eliminate all militants, would continue till there was peace in the region.
The security forces have dealt some telling blows to Lashkar by killing some of its top commanders like Ismael.
Ismael is believed to have masterminded the July 10 attack on a bus carrying Amarnath yatris in Anantnag.
Ismael’s killing came 45 days after the killing of Abu Dujana, another wanted Lashkar militant, in Pulwama.
