New Delhi: Hezbollah will rebuild itself with a new leadership despite the heavy setback following the assassination of its secretary general Hassan Nasrallah in an Israeli attack in Lebanon, according to the Iranian and Palestinian ambassadors to India.
While Palestinian Ambassador Adnan Abu Al-Hija conceded that it was a difficult time for the group after the killing of its charismatic head, his Iranian counterpart Iraj Elahi asserted that the group, which, he said, to have become a “legitimate” political party of Lebanon, had suffered setbacks in the past and has survived.
Having become the Hezbollah chief in 1992 after the then secretary general and co-founder Abbas al-Musawi was assassinated by Israel, Nasrallah met the same fate as his predecessor as he was killed in an air strike carried out in Beirut.
The Iranian ambassador sought to define Hezbollah’s role in the government by calling it a “legitimate” political party that has ministers in the cabinet of the Lebanese government and lawmakers in Parliament.
Elahi, however, maintained that Hezbollah, the political group, has a military wing to defend Lebanon from Israel and hence has been the “main pillar” of stability for Lebanon and the larger Middle East.
The ambassadors made the comments at a condolence meeting in memory of Nasrallah held Monday by the Shia group Anjuman-e-Haideri in New Delhi. Others who were present at the event include Shia cleric Maulana Kalbe Jawad and Anjuman-e-Haideri general secretary Syed Bahadur Abbas Naqvi.
Founded with the help of Iran in 1982 to combat Israel after its invasion of Lebanon, Hezbollah, under the leadership of Nasrallah, went on to become a force, both politically and militarily, in the region.
Nasrallah had close ties with the powers in Tehran, which essayed a major role in the rise of the outfit. Furthermore, Nasrallah had also helped train the fighters of the Palestinian militant group, the Hamas.
Attacking a section of the media and opinions calling the Hezbollah chief as terrorist, Shia cleric Maulana Kalbe Jawad said that if Nasrallah is a terrorist in current times due to his freedom struggle, what would be the opinion on Mahatma Gandhi, Subhash Chandra Bose and other freedom fighters.
Referring to former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s stay in India after fleeing her country in August, Jawad asked rhetorically that if freedom fighters are to be called terrorists, “why are you sheltering the daughter of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who fought the war of freedom against Pakistan”.
Also Read: Why India’s approval is key as Palestine tries to join BRICS
‘Hezbollah not finished’
The Palestinian ambassador started his condolences by recalling how Nasrallah emerged in the 1980s on the scene as a member of the Amal, a Lebanese Shiite movement in Lebanon.
Al-Hija recalled Nasrallah and his fighters inflicted losses on Israeli forces in 1982 following which Hezbollah was formed.
The envoy said that new leaders will come to replace the slain leadership of Hezbollah but they will not back down from fighting Israel.
“Some people might say Hezbollah is finished. No, I would say it is a difficult situation due to assassination of Hassan Nasrallah and some other leaders, but the structure of Hezbollah will rebuild itself,” the Palestinian ambassador told the nearly 200-odd people of the Shia community amid religious chants in solidarity with Palestine and the Shiite group.
“Some other leaders will come to replace those leaders who have been assassinated. Few days it could be difficult, but Hezbollah will continue with a new leadership of those fighters who hope Israel will invade Lebanon (to engage the Israeli soldiers),” he added.
The Iranian envoy recalled the role of Hezbollah in forcing an Israeli retreat from South Lebanon in 2000 and asserted that the outfit always worked to liberate occupied territories of Lebanon.
“After that, Hezbollah, a military group, changed to a political group. It’s a legitimate political party that has representatives in the Lebanese parliament, ministers in the Lebanese cabinet. It has a military wing to liberate the territory of Lebanon,” Elahi said in his condolence speech.
Reiterating points raised by his Palestinian counterpart, the Iranian envoy said that Hezbollah deterred Israel from taking fresh invasion attempts since 2000.
He also underlined the role which Hezbollah essayed in fighting against the terror group Islamic State in Syria and added that Hezbollah sacrificed Lebanese lives to save the region from the terrorist organisation.
Addressing the issue of uncertainties around the future of Hezbollah, Ambassador Elahi threw a rhetorical argument asking the crowd if the school of Imam Hussain finished after Karbala. “No, it is going even now and stronger,” he added.
Hussain, the grandson of Prophet Muhammad, who was slain in Karbala, is considered a hero by the Shias.
“Hezbollah is a well-organised structure. Hezbollah’s first secretary general was also assassinated with his wife and infant in his car. Hezbollah has sacrificed too many casualties for the holy goals of liberation of Palestine,” the Iranian envoy said.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
Also Read: Israel sharing combat tactics with India, like targeting terrorists seconds after they’re located