Amarnath yatra not our target, yatris our guests: Hizb commander Riyaz Naikoo

Srinagar: A top Hizb-ul-Mujahideen commander on Tuesday said that Amarnath Yatris were their guests and that the reports suggesting that militants were planning to attack them were baseless.
“Amarnath Yatra is not our target. They (yatris) come here to perform their religious rituals. They (yatris) are our guests,” said Riyaz Naikoo, Field Operational Commander, in an audio clip released on social media.
He termed as baseless the statement of DGP SP Vaid in which he had said that militants were planning to attack Amarnath Yatra, which is beginning tomorrow.
“We have never attacked Amarnath yatra. We are not at war with the yatris,” said Naikoo, adding that they were at war with those suppressing them.
“We are at war with those who forced us to pick up gun. We are fighting for our rights and our freedom,” he said. Naikoo said that their war was with the Indian state and not with Indian people.