The discomfiture of jihadi groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) with the Islamic State (IS) lies in the latter’s contemptuous dismissal of them as al-Qaida allies who are puppets in the hands of the Pakistan army which itself is an “apostate”, and therefore, an illegitimate force.
In its online magazine `Dabiq’, the IS runs down LeT and some other anti-India groups active in J&K for a stop-start war. “In India, they (al-Qaida) are the allies of the nationalist Kashmir factions whose advances and withdrawals are only by the order of the apostate Pakistani army . In North Africa, they are the allies of Libyan factions who partook in the religion of democracy in the name of Islam,” says the IS post.
Lashkar’s denial of any Islamic State role in Kashmir is seen as a reaction to the putdown as also a reflection of a concern that the IS may be gaining an increasing number of followers among disaffected youth.The presence of IS flags in demonstrations this year have been noticed by Indian intelligence agencies too.
The tussle also indicates the Islamic State’s impatience with jihadist outfits that are slow in recognising its supremacy and the leadership of its `Khalifah (Caliph)’ Bakr al-Baghdadi.
