Kashmir counters local support for ISIS
Officials in the Indian state discourage youths from waving the black flag of the Middle Eastern jihadist group that terrorises and persecutes Muslims, others.
Jammu and Kashmir authorities have identified youths who waved the flag of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria ( ISIS ) during recent street demonstrations in Srinagar, and have opened investigations into their conduct, officials said.
"Police have started the investigations and also have registered cases against men who are involved in the waving of ISIS flags," state Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said on the side-lines of a police ceremony in southern Kashmir on October 21st, the Indian Express reported.
"Till now, none among them has been found to be related to the militancy."
According to local police, youths held for questioning appear to know nothing about ISIS.
"They have waved the flags just for fun," Police Inspector General Abdul Gani Mir told Khabar South Asia. "The investigations are on and after the enquiry we will be able to know why they were waving these flags."
The ISIS flags first appeared in the Kashmir Valley during street protests in July.
Appearance of the flags come at a time when both ISIS and al-Qaeda have expressed interest in exploiting communal tensions in India to recruit frustrated Muslims into jihadist causes.
With its slaughter of fellow Muslims , distortion of Islam , religious intolerance and rape and sexual enslavement of women , ISIS has become globally synonymous with brutality.
In August, police detained an 18-year-old from Srinagar's old city for allegedly waving the extremist group's black flag. Later that month, police there questioned Times Now cameraman Sheikh Umar Altaf for his role in a report showing local youths with the ISIS flag, Indian media reported.
The flag resurfaced in Srinagar's old city October 10th, when some youths hoisted it as people were finishing Friday prayers.
"You have to understand that no ISIS group has been identified so far in the Valley," Chief Minister Abdullah told reporters October 14th, according to NDTV.
"The flag of the ISIS was waved by some idiots, which does not mean that ISIS has any presence in Kashmir. Unfortunately, some channels have tried to make an issue out of this and drag me into this as if we are not doing anything on this."
The following day, Lieutenant General Subrata Saha, commander of the Indian Army's 15 Corps in Srinagar, spoke of the direct threat posed by ISIS.
"The emergence of the flags merits concern and deserves the highest attention of the security agencies to prevent the youth of Kashmir from getting lured (into ISIS)," Saha told the Press Trust of India." The ability of [ISIS] to attract large number of volunteers is a matter of concern."
"The threat of [ISIS] is something which all security agencies have to give concern and it has to receive their highest attention," Saha told ANI News separately on October 15th.
Effects on tourism
The flag's presence has even scared off tourists planning ski holidays in the region, hospitality operators said.
"Many of my foreign friends who were supposed to visit Kashmir have dropped their plans after they heard about the ISIS in Kashmir in the news," Dalgate hotel owner Showkat Ahmad told Khabar. "The government should initiate steps to make foreign tourists aware that there is no ISIS in Kashmir."
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