After the killing its operation’s chief Mehmood Ghaznavi, Hizbul Mujahideen has named Mohammad Bin Qasim as its new chief in the valley. The announcement has been made after Hizb chief Syed Salah-ud-din headed a meeting of the outfit’s “command council” in Muzaffarabad.

“The meeting has decided to give the responsibility of the operational commander to Mohammad Bin Qasim,” Hizb chief spokesman Saleem Hashmi said in a statement to local news agencies.

While there are 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.

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

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