This is nothing new. Even Mirwaiz Umar Farooq's father was killed by LeT and other such militant outfits (
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article1030106.ece). Maulana Showkat had opposed stone pelting and had quoted Hadiths saying that pelting stones is UnIslamic. He had also mellowed his pro-independance position to a autonoumous position and was working with the Indian govt. as a mediator.
This is just a face saving act by the LeT as I have never come across "rouge" LeT militants. The hit was ordered by the LeT and its heads and when the public outrage and backlash was too hot to handle and they could not blame it on the Indian security forces, this "story" was put through by the LeT.
This also is indirectly a stamp of approval on the J&K police who responsibly conducted the probe and caught the killers of the Maulana. The LeT would have tried to white wash its crimes had it not been for the thorough investigation of the J&K police.
-------------------------------------------------
http://www.tehelka.com/story_main50.asp?filename=Ws250811Kashmir.asp
Indirectly endorses J-K Police probe, indicts Tehreek-ul-Mujahideen for eliminating Shah
Riyaz Wani
Srinagar
In the first development of this nature in past two decades, Lashkar-i-Toiba has owned that the influential Wahhabi cleric Maulana Showkat Shah was assassinated by the rogue elements within militant ranks. The outfit has identified the same people whom J-K Police arrested for Shahs murder early this year.
We had promised to our people that we would expose the killers of Maulana Showkat Sahib and seek revenge from them for their foul deed. And we have done it now, said the Lashkar report sent to the Investigation Committee set up by the separatist groups to probe Shahs murder. The committee had among its members Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Yasin Malik, Jamaat-e-Islami chief Shiekh Mohammad Hassan, acting president of the Jamiat Ahle Hadith Ghulam Rasool Malik and Shia leaders Moulvi Abbas Ansari and Agha Syed Hassan.
Initially, we thought that Maulana Sahibs murder was the handiwork of Indian agencies hellbent on sowing discord within pro-freedom camp. But it soon turned out that the killers of Maulana were some traitors within our own ranks.
Shah, head of an influential puritanical religious organisation Jamiat Ahle Hadith, was killed in an IED explosion outside a mosque in Maisuma on 8 April. The IED was blown up just when Shah was entering the mosque through its rear door to lead the Friday prayers.
Lashkar has identified Javed Munshi alias Bill Papa, Nisar Ahmad, Abu Umair and Sheikh Jameel-u-Rehman, with allegiance to the militant outfit Tehreek-ul-Mujahideen, as being responsible for killing Shah. Of these four, Umair and Jameel are based in Muzaffarabad.
Incidentally J-K Police has already arrested Munshi and Nisar together with Abdul Gani Dar alias Abdullah Gazali, the chief of Saut-ul-Haq, a breakaway Wahhabi faction, for the murder. Police while unveiling the conspiracy behind the murder early this year blamed Saut-ul-Haq for hatching an elaborate conspiracy with militant outfit Tehreek Mujahideen, elements of Lashkar-i-Toiba, incarcerated separatist leader Ashiq Hussain Faktoo alias Dr Qasim and Jameel Khan, the *** based secretary general of United Jihad Council.
However, Lashkar has exonerated its high-ranking Sopore commander Abdullah Uni who was accused by police of supplying explosives for the crime, saying he had rejected Munshis call for the help to eliminate Shah. When we questioned Abdulah Uni about his role in the murder, it turned out he had no hand in it. Though Javed Munshi had duly solicited Unis help, he rejected it rightaway and then unsuccessfully tried to dissuade Munshi from it. However, Munshi soon broke every connection with Uni and later went ahead and killed Maulana Showkat Shah. Uni was shocked, Lashkar said. Munshis naming Uni in police custody as a facilitator in the murder was his attempt to get back at him for non-cooperation in the act.
Lashkar has as such squarely indicted Tehreek-ul-Mujahideen for eliminating Shah. Interestingly Tehreek-ul-Mujahideen has completed its parallel investigation into the incident which it will also be presenting soon to the Investigation Committee comprising members of various separatist groups.
Unintentional though, the Lashkar report has come as a broad endorsement of the police probe. The police in its report had put the assassination down to the factional rivalry between the Valleys two Wahhabi groups, Jamiat Ahle Hadith and hardliner Saut-ul-Haq. The killing of Shah was the result of the battle for the control of Valleys growing Wahhabist constituency. Maulana Showkat belonged to Ahle Hadith but he also interacted with Barelvis and Shias. He also resisted the moves to radicalize Jamiat. This was not acceptable to his hardline detractors who conspired to kill him, Sahai said in its explanation of the reasons for Shahs murder. The objective behind the assassination is to appropriate Ahle Hadith and control it.
Lashkar, however, has rejected that its own cadre was in any way involved in killing Shah. In fact, quoting Adnan Bhai, its Muzaffarabad-based operational commander, Lashkar said that Munshi and Nisar had briefly worked with Lashkar through Umair and even received some explosives and money for the operations in Kashmir but had subsequently duped the organization. We provided them with detonator, pistol, grenade and one lakh rupees for RDX. But Javed later told us that the ammunition was seized by Police, Lashkar report said and accuses Munshi of being a double-cross with a hand in getting some of its militants killed by police.
When contacted Inspector General of Kashmir Police S M Sahai refused to comment on Lashkar report. I will not take a position on the report of a terrorist organization, Sahai told TEHELKA. Our investigation stands on its own merit. We do not need Lashkar endorsement for it.
However, Jamiat Secretary General Abdur Rehman Bhat granted that the Lashkar report was an endorsement of the police probe. He said that Jamiat would soon make public the report by Tehreek-ul-Mujahideen.
Shahs assassination had jolted separatists and persuaded them to close their ranks and launch a joint investigation to find out the killers. Shah was killed just when some of them had begun to speak openly against the political killings in Kashmir. The late cleric by no means was a small political entity. Jamiat owns around 500 mosques and claims a membership of 15 lakh people in the state. But for a Wahabbi leader, he was liberal in his thinking and believed in the concept of a radical middle ground. Shah also worked for unity among different Islamic sects in the Valley.
Riyaz Wani is a Special Correspondent with Tehelka.
