Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar (born 1967, also known as Mushtaq Latram) is a

Kashmiri Kashmiri may refer to: * People or things related to the Kashmir Valley or the broader region of Kashmir * Kashmiris, an ethnic group native to the Kashmir Valley * Kashmiri language, their language People with the name * Kashmiri Saikia Baruah ...

militant active in the

Kashmiri insurgency The insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir, also known as the Kashmir insurgency, is an ongoing separatist militant insurgency against the Indian administration in Jammu and Kashmir, a territory constituting the southwestern portion of the larger g ...

, and founder of the militant outfit Al-Umar Mujahedeen. He spent considerable time in an Indian prison and was released in the aftermath of the

Indian Airlines flight 814 hijacking Indian Airlines Flight 814, commonly known as IC 814, was an Indian Airlines Airbus A300 en route from Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, Nepal, to Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, India, on Friday, 24 December 199 ...

. He currently lives in Pakistan.

Early life and career

Zargar grew up in the

Nowhatta Nowhatta, () known as Navyut () in Kashmiri language, Kashmiri, is a town of historical importance situated at a distance of 5 km from Lal Chowk, Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), Jammu and Kashmir, India. Nowhatta is famous b ...

area of

Srinagar Srinagar (English: , ) is the largest city and the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It lies in the Kashmir Valley on the banks of the Jhelum River, a tributary of the Indus, and Dal and Anchar lakes. The city is known for its natu ...

Kashmir Valley The Kashmir Valley, also known as the ''Vale of Kashmir'', is an intermontane valley concentrated in the Kashmir Division of the Indian- union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The valley is bounded on the southwest by the Pir Panjal Range and ...

. He joined the

Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front The Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) is a militant separatist organization active in both the Indian-administered and Pakistani-administered territories of Kashmir. It was founded by Amanullah Khan, with Maqbool Bhat also credited as a co ...

in 1988, encouraged by its founder

Ashfaq Majeed Wani Ashfaq Majeed Wani (5 September 1966 – 30 March 1990) was the first Commander in Chief of the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front, a militant Kashmiri-separatist group in Jammu and Kashmir, India. He was killed by Indian Paramilitary Forces in 19 ...

, and allegedly left for combat training in

Azad Kashmir Azad Jammu and Kashmir (; ), abbreviated as AJK and colloquially referred to as simply Azad Kashmir, is a region administered by Pakistan as a nominally self-governing entitySee: * * * and constituting the western portion of the larger Ka ...

. He returned to Jammu and Kashmir in 1989. On 12 December 1989 Zargar was one of the members who carried out

kidnapping of Rubaiya Sayeed In 1989, Rubaiya Sayeed, the daughter of the then Indian Home Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, was kidnapped by Kashmiri separatist militants in Srinagar, the capital of Jammu and Kashmir. The kidnappers demanded the release of five jailed member ...

, the daughter of the newly appointed Home Minister of India

Mufti Mohammad Sayeed A Mufti (; ar, مفتي) is an Islamic jurist qualified to issue a nonbinding opinion (''fatwa'') on a point of Islamic law (''sharia''). The act of issuing fatwas is called ''iftāʾ''. Muftis and their ''fatwas'' played an important role ...

. The kidnappers demanded the release of five of their comrades in exchange for Rubaiya Sayeed’s release. The government accepted their demands. After Wani's death in March 1990, he fell out with Hamid Sheikh and

Yasin Malik Yasin Malik (born 3 April 1966) is a Kashmiri separatist leader and former militant who advocates the separation of Kashmir from both India and Pakistan. He is the Chairman of the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front, which originally spearheaded ar ...

, Wani's successors, and in 1991 formed his own militant group which he called Al-Umar Mujahideen. Over the years, at least three dozen murder cases were registered against Zargar in Srinagar, including for alleged killings of high-ranking Indian officers. Zargar was arrested on 15 May 1992 and imprisoned. He was released from jail on 31 December 1999 as part of the Indian Airlines Flight 814 hostage deal and provided safe passage to Pakistan. Shortly after Zargar revived Al-Umar Mujahideen in

Muzaffarabad Muzaffarabad (; ur, ) is the capital and largest city of Azad Kashmir, and the 60th largest in Pakistan. The city is located in Muzaffarabad District, near the confluence of the Jhelum and Neelum rivers. The district is bounded by the Pak ...

. Zargar was reportedly arrested by Pakistani authorities in 2002 but as of 2007, he was living in Muzaffarabad without any restrictions.

Notes

External links

Profile of Al-Umar Mujahideen

Profile of Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zargar, Mushtaq Ahmed 1967 births Living people Kashmiri militants Indian Islamists Indian expatriates in Pakistan Members of jihadist groups Kashmiri Islamists