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The Islamic State in Jammu and Kashmir (ISJK, ISIS–JK, Islamic State – J&K) refers to the activities of the Islamic State in Kashmir, specifically the Kashmir Valley of Jammu and Kashmir.

History

The Islamic State announced in 2016 that its Khorasan Province will expand into Kashmir. The Islamic State's presence increased gradually in Jammu and Kashmir during 2017, reportedly with protestors waving the Islamic State flag and the Pakistani flag at rallies around the valley. The rallies were likely by sympathisers and not by the Islamic State, due to the Islamic State's opposition to nationalist flags, as well as opposition to the State of Pakistan. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for an attack in Srinagar on November 17, 2017, which killed an Indian policeman. ISJK's existence has mostly been observed online. In December 2017, a pro-Islamic State video in Urdu was shared on Telegram, using the hashtag “Wilayat Kashmir” (Kashmir Province) in which a masked man pledges allegiance to the Islamic State and invited AQI-affiliated groups to join the Islamic State. The ISJK, similarly to the Islamic State in Kurdistan, has not been listed an official Islamic State wilayah (province), although occasionally is referred to as wilayah by its supporters. The ISJK is overshadowed by LeT, JeM, and HM, who have openly rejected both Al-Qaeda and Islamic State propaganda. The United Jihad Council stated that the jihad movement in Kashmir does not have a worldwide caliphate goal, and claimed that al-Qaeda-affiliated groups, and the ISJK, are attempts by the Indian government to ruin the image of the Kashmiri jihad movement. Syed Ali Shah Geelani accused ISJK, and the Islamic State as a whole, of being un-Islamic and a creation of the West with the intention of dividing Muslims. The ISJK aims to spread the Islamic State caliphate to Jammu and Kashmir, rather than to split from India or to merge with Pakistan.

References

1. Praveen Swami, “Islamic State threatens to Expand to Kashmir,” Indian Express, February 3, 2016.
2. “IS claims Zakura Attack,” Tribune (India), November 20, 2017.
3. ”Kashmiri group pledges allegiance to Islamic State,” BBC Urdu, December 26, 2017.
4. “Islamic State and Kashmir,” Kashmir Monitor, November 21, 2017.
5. ”Kashmir’s Freedom Movement Is Indigenous, has No Global Agenda: Syed Salahuddin,” Kashmir Watch, July 28, 2017.
6. Peerzada Ashiq, “ISIS is an un-Islamic group, says Hurriyat chief Geelani,” Hindustan Times, June 29, 2015.
7. Shashank Bengali and Sameer Yasir, “The Clock is Ticking,” Los Angeles Times, August 28, 2017.