Hizbul Mujahideen appoints Mohammad Bin Qasim as new chief after Yasin Yatoo’s death

While there is no militants by the code name of Mohammad Bin Qasim on the police radar, police sources say that the new commander could be Riyaz Naikoo, the Divisional Commander of Hizbul Mujahideen for south Kashmir. A resident of Awantipora in south Kashmir, the 27-year-old Naikoo joined militancy in 2012 and is seen one of the influential militant commanders of the outfit in south Kashmir. In past one year, Naikoo has released several video messages while he also appeared at the funerals of militants killed in encounters with army and police. In one of the recent militant funeral, he addressed the people in Pulwama.

“They (Hizb) can give Mohammad Bin Qasim name to anyone. But as far as we think, it should be Riyaz. The Hizbul Muajhideen leadership has complete trust on him and he has a good influence over his cadres,” said a senior police officer.