Srinagar: The most-wanted militant commander in Kashmir, Riyaz Naikoo, has asked families of slain rebels and civilians in south Kashmir not to allow Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti to enter their homes, dismissing her recent such visits as “drama” ahead of assembly elections in the state.The operational chief of Hizbul Mujahideen has further described those waving ISIS flags in the Valley as “Indian agents out to defame the azadi (freedom) movement”.In a 20-minute long audio clip released on social media on Sunday, his latest, Naikoo, an A++ category militant carrying a bounty of Rs 12 lakh on his head, talks about the 2016 summer uprising, 23-month rule of Mehbooba as Jammu and Kashmir chief minister, killings of civilians and militants over the past three years, the recent “desecration” of Jamia Masjid in Srinagar and attempts to link “Kashmir struggle” with the global terrorist organisation ISIS.‘As chief minister she justified killings’Speaking in Urdu, Naikoo, in a scathing attack on Mehbooba, asked families of militants to “humiliate and send her back” if she visits them. Today, the rebel commander said, Mehbooba is going to families of militants, expressing sympathy with them and claiming that the police are harassing them on someone else’s directions.“Family members of militants were harassed also when she was in power. Who was giving directions to police then?’’ Naikoo can be heard asking.On December 30, Mehbooba – who lost power in June 2018, and is facing a growing rebellion within her party – visited the family of a militant in Pulwama district and cautioned the governor’s administration against the harassment of rebels’ families by the J&K Police.This was her first visit to the interiors of south Kashmir, which has become the epicentre of militancy in Kashmir post-2016 uprising. The event grabbed headlines and was seen as part of PDP’s new “reach out programme” in the south, once the party’s stronghold.A few days later, Mehbooba visited the family of another militant – this time in Shopian district – and reiterated that harassment of militants’ families will have serious consequences.The visits evoked strong criticism from Mehbooba’s political opponents. Former chief minister Omar Abdullah took to Twitter to call out the PDP leader.The architect of “Operation All-out” & the overseer of the operations that killed hundreds of militants since 2015 is now going from one militant home to the next trying to rehabilitate a badly damaged reputation.— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) January 3, 2019The twin districts of Shopian and Pulwama have borne the brunt of the unrest post-2016. According to human rights group J&K Coalition of Civil Society, of the 160 civilian killings in Kashmir in 2018 – the highest in a decade – 52 were in these two districts alone.Also read: Behind the Upsurge in Militancy in Kashmir’s Shopian“She (Mehbooba Mufti) has started a new drama and is shedding crocodile tears…during her government, she used to justify civilian and militant killings to appease BJP and her bosses in New Delhi. She used to justify civilian killings by asking if children had gone out to buy toffees from army camps and she used to ask if police and army had kept weapons only for exhibition,” Naikoo said.“This is a matter of shame for us that we allow such people to enter our homes. We want to tell families of militants… whether you want to be counted among heirs of martyrs or those siding with traitors,” Naikoo said in the audio clip.Relatives of a young man killed in a Shopian encounter. Credit: Reuters‘Waving of IS flags ploy to defame our struggle’In the same audio clip, Naikoo condemned the desecration of Jamia mosque by some masked youth, saying those waving the black flags were “Indian agents” and want to “settle their personal animosity with the Kashmir movement at the behest of India”.“Those people who waived Daesh flags inside Jamia mosque are real enemies of this struggle and martyrs,” he said.On December 28, soon after the congregation Friday prayers, a group of masked youth forcefully entered the historic mosque – in the heart of summer capital Srinagar. They created a ruckus and waved a black flag with the ISIS symbol. One person even climbed the pulpit, with shoes on, and waved the flag. The mosque was largely empty at the time.The incident triggered outrage across the Valley.Also read: Black Flags in Kashmir – Mere Shadows or the Coming of Islamic State?Last Friday, on January 4, separatist leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who is the head priest of the Valley and delivers sermons at the mosque, led a protest there against the waving of ISIS flag at the mosque. He was joined by JKLF chairman Muhammad Yasin Malik and people from different walks of life, including traders and members of civil society.“This (waving of flags) is a deep-rooted conspiracy of India. We condemn it. We know people who waive flags of Daesh and we also know why they waive these flags. They want to defame this freedom struggle at the international level,” Naikoo said, cautioning the youth against allowing “the enemy” to exploit their emotions.He goes on to say that religious scholars of every school of thought have rejected ISIS for their un-Islamic activities. “If they rejected it, who are these masked people who wave Daesh flag? You can guess it yourself.”“Those who desecrated Jamia mosque, I want to tell them by waiving these flags you can’t establish Khilafat…if you are loyal to this movement then unveil your face,” he says.The 33-year-old rebel commander says that since the 2016 uprising, the government of India has been facing pressure from the international community over the ongoing protests and killings in the Valley.Also read: ‘They Killed Him in Front of My Eyes’: Anger in Pulwama After Seven Dead in Firing by Forces“That is why India wants to link our struggle with Daesh and that is why IS flags are being waved here to defame our struggle. We know who are deliberately waving IS flag. They want to create a sectarian divide in our movement,” adds Naikoo, formerly a mathematics teacher. “Waiving Daesh flags is equal to betrayal with the blood of martyrs and loyalty with India.”“India wants to link our struggle with Daesh and that is why IS flags are being waved here to defame our struggle,” Naikoo said. Credit: ReutersAccording to Naikoo, UN resolutions form the base of militants’ struggle and “these people” by their acts want to convey to the world that Kashmiris were supportive of implementing these resolutions. “India is well aware that if the Kashmir issue is decided as per the aspirations of people, they certainly are going to lose, hence they are up to creating confusion among us,” Naikoo says, adding “these people” wanted to create division within militant ranks by creating different groups.Who is Naikoo?A former math teacher from Baighpora village of Awantipora police district, Naikoo left home in May 2012 to join militancy. He, however, came on the radar of security agencies after forces killed rebel commander Burhan Wani in 2016.Naikoo went on to become the operational head of Hizb after Zakir Musa, the then head of the outfit in the Valley, quit the group and became the head of Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind, the al Qaeda cell operating in Kashmir.File photo of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Riyaz Naikoo.Security agencies have described Naikoo as the brain behind the revival of Hizb in Kashmir. He has been dodging security agencies for more than six years now. Naikoo hogged headlines last summer as well when he warned J&K Police’s special police officers to quit their jobs, triggering a spree of resignations, mostly from south Kashmir.According to a senior police officer, Naikoo has cultivated an image of being a “moderate militant” and has managed to induct several youth from south Kashmir into militancy. On December 27, Naikoo again gave security forces the slip when they busted a hideout in the forest area of Renzipora village of Awantipora, close to the rebel’s home.“There were credible inputs about Naikoo’s presence there but he is believed to have escaped before forces tightened the cordon around the area,” a senior police official told The Wire.Mudasir Ahmad is a Srinagar-based reporter.