File photograph of Zakir Musa

NEW DELHI: A fresh statement issued through the official media of Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind, the Kashmir-based Al Qaida affiliate led by former Hizbul Mujahideen leader Zakir Musa , has warned that it will not rest until it "liberates occupied Hindustan".

The release, while citing the 8th century example of Muhammad bin Qasim who allegedly killed the then Hindu king of Sindh and established the rule of Shariah there, appealed to all Muslims to sacrifice their comforts and join the battle to re-establish the Islamic Caliphate.

"Al-Sindh' is the region in the Indian Sub-continent (in present day Pakistan) which was once ruled with Islamic Sharia by Muhammad bin Qasim who was the Army General of Umayyad caliphate. Al-Sindh is the first part of land in the sub-continent to implement Shariah. The caravan started from Al-Sindh 1400 years (ago). It will not stop until it liberates occupied Hindustan & joins the Army of Eesa(AS) in Shaam," said the statement put out on Ghazwat ul Hind's official Telegram channel Al Hurr on Thursday night.

Incidentally, intelligence sources said that while the statement was indeed issued via Al Hurr media, the official media network of Ghazwat ul Hind, its source could not be verified.

The media statement, while recounting the alleged history behind Muhammad bin Qasim's conquest of Sindh, claimed he was sent to Sindh by the governor of Umayyad caliphate to avenge an alleged attack by its Hindu king Raja Dahir on a ship ferrying Muslim pilgrims from Sri Lanka to Makkah in 710 CE. "...on the way via the Arabic Sea, the Navy of the Hindu king (Rāja Dāhir) of his Sindh kingdom attacked this pilgrim ship and made Muslim women as his concubines (sex slaves). An Arabic...Muslim woman smuggled a letter out to the Governor (Hajjāj bin Yusuf) of the caliphate for help. Infuriated by this news, he sent the caliphate army to attack and kill the Sindh Hindu king. As Muhammad bin Qasim was the Army General for the caliphate, (he) was sent by his paternal uncle (the Governor himself)," it said.

Claiming that Qasim invaded the land in 711 CE, the statement said the Hindu king was killed and Muslims taken prisoner by him were freed. "Qasim...took the king's two daughters as his slave and another sent as a gift for the Governor," it claimed adding that unlike "the glorious histories of Islamic Caliphates, the Muslim rulers (in the present era) have become the boot-lickers of the tyrants."

Telling Muslims that jannat (heaven) was not to be earned from "cozy beds and comfort cushions", Ghazwat statement asked them to enter the battlefield and make just their intentions to establish a Caliphate/Sharia.

