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https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com...-twitter-freely/articleshowprint/64891427.cms
Syed Aasiya Andrabi: She raided cyber cafes, but now uses Twitter freely
Except for the eyes that peek through the slit of her burqa (veil), the facial identity of the chief of the banned terror group Dukhtaran-e-Millat (DeM), Syed Aasiya Andrabi+ remains a blind-spot, with not many people including J&K police officers who can claim to have seen her. In the last 30 years, having earned the dubious distinction of being the lone woman militant leader, Andrabi has been known only by her religious vigilantism and support of Pakistan and terror groups operating in Kashmir.
55-year-old Andrabi, was a member of Jamat-e-Islami’s women’s wing before she founded the group DeM (Daughters of Nation), in 1985, which champions the agenda of Kashmir’s secession from India and merger with Pakistan. Andrabi became a household name in Kashmir when she took upon herself to enforce the Islamic dress codes and diktats issued by terror groups for Muslim women in the Valley in 1990-91. “She and her armed band of followers clad in burqas, used to raid cyber cafes, restaurants, beauty salons and other public places to threaten women who did not comply and wear burqa. The campaign for burqa led to other terror groups throwing acid and shooting at women wearing jeans in Kashmir,” Arshia, a blogger told TOI.
A home sciences graduate from Government Women’s College, Srinagar, Andrabi, married one of the top Hizbul Mujahideen commanders and an Islamic studies scholar, Dr. Qasim Faktoo in 1990. The couple was arrested in 1993 for Faktoo’s involvement in the murder of a well-known human rights activist HN Wanchoo. Faktoo is serving life imprisonment while Andrabi has been in and out of the jail for several offences like hoisting Pakistani flags in Kashmir and disruption of public order.
In 2016, after Hizbul commander Burhan Wani was killed by security forces in an encounter in Kashmir, Andrabi telephonically addressed a Jamat-ud-Dawa (JuD) (parent organization of banned terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba) rally in Pakistan. The mastermind of the Mumbai 26/11 terror attacks and JuD chief Hafiz Mohammad Saeed expressed solidarity with her in his rally on Pakistan’s Independence Day.
Interestingly, Aasiya Andrabi has been freely using Twitter to run her social media campaign against India and in favour of terror groups based in Pakistan. A Srinagar-based police officer who did not want to be named said, “Andrabi has been a major force of religious and political radicalization in Kashmir. She has been a brand ambassador of Lashkar-e-Taiba and Hizbul Mujahideen. Don’t know why she was permitted to use Twitter freely.”
Though Andrabi urges Kashmiri youth to join terror groups, her two sons have been insulated from their parents’ political and criminal background. Her elder son Mohammad Bin Qasim has a Bachelors in Information Technology from Malaysia International University and is pursuing higher studies in Australia. Qasim, who comes across as a moderate, even went on to defend actress Zaira Waseem who was being trolled by religious extremists on Facebook. However, he later deleted the post after he drew flak from his mother’s fans.
Syed Aasiya Andrabi: She raided cyber cafes, but now uses Twitter freely
Except for the eyes that peek through the slit of her burqa (veil), the facial identity of the chief of the banned terror group Dukhtaran-e-Millat (DeM), Syed Aasiya Andrabi+ remains a blind-spot, with not many people including J&K police officers who can claim to have seen her. In the last 30 years, having earned the dubious distinction of being the lone woman militant leader, Andrabi has been known only by her religious vigilantism and support of Pakistan and terror groups operating in Kashmir.
55-year-old Andrabi, was a member of Jamat-e-Islami’s women’s wing before she founded the group DeM (Daughters of Nation), in 1985, which champions the agenda of Kashmir’s secession from India and merger with Pakistan. Andrabi became a household name in Kashmir when she took upon herself to enforce the Islamic dress codes and diktats issued by terror groups for Muslim women in the Valley in 1990-91. “She and her armed band of followers clad in burqas, used to raid cyber cafes, restaurants, beauty salons and other public places to threaten women who did not comply and wear burqa. The campaign for burqa led to other terror groups throwing acid and shooting at women wearing jeans in Kashmir,” Arshia, a blogger told TOI.
A home sciences graduate from Government Women’s College, Srinagar, Andrabi, married one of the top Hizbul Mujahideen commanders and an Islamic studies scholar, Dr. Qasim Faktoo in 1990. The couple was arrested in 1993 for Faktoo’s involvement in the murder of a well-known human rights activist HN Wanchoo. Faktoo is serving life imprisonment while Andrabi has been in and out of the jail for several offences like hoisting Pakistani flags in Kashmir and disruption of public order.
In 2016, after Hizbul commander Burhan Wani was killed by security forces in an encounter in Kashmir, Andrabi telephonically addressed a Jamat-ud-Dawa (JuD) (parent organization of banned terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba) rally in Pakistan. The mastermind of the Mumbai 26/11 terror attacks and JuD chief Hafiz Mohammad Saeed expressed solidarity with her in his rally on Pakistan’s Independence Day.
Interestingly, Aasiya Andrabi has been freely using Twitter to run her social media campaign against India and in favour of terror groups based in Pakistan. A Srinagar-based police officer who did not want to be named said, “Andrabi has been a major force of religious and political radicalization in Kashmir. She has been a brand ambassador of Lashkar-e-Taiba and Hizbul Mujahideen. Don’t know why she was permitted to use Twitter freely.”
Though Andrabi urges Kashmiri youth to join terror groups, her two sons have been insulated from their parents’ political and criminal background. Her elder son Mohammad Bin Qasim has a Bachelors in Information Technology from Malaysia International University and is pursuing higher studies in Australia. Qasim, who comes across as a moderate, even went on to defend actress Zaira Waseem who was being trolled by religious extremists on Facebook. However, he later deleted the post after he drew flak from his mother’s fans.
