Even as Dar and his associates were accused of assisting Indian security forces, many ofhis loyalists were killed by cadres of the Salahuddin group. Faced with Dar's rising popularity within the HMranks, Salahuddin and the ISI had, in the recent months, initiated several moves to marginalize and target Darand his associates in the terrorist ensemble.
The Salahuddin's faction is also widely believed to have carried out the January 31, 2003 killing of theeditor of News and Feature Alliance (NAFA), Parvaz Mohammad Sultan, in Srinagar. NAFA had beenprominently reporting on the internal feud in the HM for the preceding two weeks prior to Sultan's killing.The NAFA reports had mentioned that the Valley-based faction led by Dar had 'overthrown' the Salahuddinfaction.
Within hours of Majeed Dar's murder, sources indicate that clashes broke out at HM camps in PoK between theslain leader's followers and the faction led by Salahuddin. Violent confrontations are believed to have takenplace at camps in Kotli, Mirpur, Oggi, Jungal-Mangal, Haripur and Gadhi-Dupatta. Preliminary reports indicatethat Salahuddin was fidgety over the prospect of an imminent test of strength in the camps. Details ofcasualties and the outcome of these clashes were still not available at the time of this report.
The brief lull in Jehadi violence in J&K over the December - February period was tactical,primarily the result of adverse weather conditions along the passes on the border. However, Chief of ArmyStaff, General N.C. Vij, on March 23, 2003, had stated that there would be a spurt in infiltration intoJ&K from across the border after the snow started melting, and this has been borne out by trends in Marchitself - much earlier than had been usual in preceding years.