Posted on 05/29/2002 8:32:00 AM PDT by RCW2001
MUNIR AHMAD, Associated Press Writer
Wednesday, May 29, 2002
©2002 Associated Press
URL: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2002/05/29/international0700EDT0505.DTL
(05-29) 04:00 PDT ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) --
Islamic militant groups fighting in Kashmir said Wednesday they feel betrayed by Pakistan's president as he tries to ease tensions with their archenemy, predominantly Hindu India.
"We have been stabbed in the back and abandoned by Pakistan in the same way it disassociated itself from the Taliban," Commander Mohammed Musa, spokesman for the outlawed Jaish-e-Mohammed group, told The Associated Press by telephone.
Worried militant commanders held an emergency meeting on Tuesday to discuss a crackdown on them launched by Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf.
The militants, who are fighting to wrest all of predominantly Muslim Kashmir from India, complained that they have been prevented from sneaking into the Indian-controlled areas.
A key issue preventing the two nuclear-armed neighbors from holding talks is India's insistence that Musharraf stop cross-border attacks by Pakistan-based militants. Musharraf has insisted Pakistan has closed off infiltration routes, and the militants interviewed Wednesday said they were feeling the pinch.
"We are disappointed in whatever the government has done during the last two weeks," said Abu Sayyaf, the spokesman for the outlawed Lashkar-e-Tayyaba group.
On Tuesday, India's defense minister said members of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network and Taliban fighters from Afghanistan are among the militants operating in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir. However, American, Afghan and Pakistan officials say they know nothing of the alleged al-Qaida presence there.
Musharraf has become a key ally in the U.S.-led war on terrorism. But since he ended Pakistan's support for Afghanistan's Taliban regime, he has walked a fine line as he tries to rein in Muslim extremists without backing down on Pakistan's longstanding support for an independent Kashmir.
India accuses Pakistan of arming and training militants operating in Kashmir, while Pakistan says it offers only "moral" support. The Himalayan region has been at the heart of two of the three wars fought between India and Pakistan since their independence from Britain in 1947.
Tensions between the two nations escalated after a December attack on the Indian parliament. India blamed two Pakistan-based militant groups -- Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Tayyaba -- as well as Pakistan's spy agency. Pakistan has denied the charges.
Since then, the neighbors have massed about 1 million troops along the Kashmir border.
In January, Musharraf banned five Islamic militant groups, including the two India blamed for the parliament attack. Hundreds of arrests followed. The government launched another round of arrests after a bus bombing in Pakistan killed 11 French engineers who were helping Pakistan build a submarine.
On Tuesday, Syed Salahuddin, the head of one of the main militant groups, Hezb-ul Mujahedeen, met with leaders of groups in Kashmir and Islamabad in an effort to "keep the movement alive," said group spokesman Saleem Hashmi.
Salahuddin is also the chairman of United Jihad Council -- an umbrella group comprising more than 18 militant groups. He was in touch with all of them to discuss the crackdown, Hashmi said.
However, Hashmi refused to comment when asked if militant training camps have been removed from the Pakistan-controlled part of Kashmir.
"Whatever has happened is not good for the cause of Kashmir," he said.
World leaders have rejected Pakistan's claims that it gives only moral and diplomatic support to Islamic militants waging an insurgency in Indian-ruled Kashmir. They have demanded Pakistan do more to stop the cross-border incursions.
Musharraf, meanwhile, says his country cannot be held responsible every time someone in Kashmir attacks Indian troops. He says that Pakistan has also suffered internal terrorism blamed on militants since it threw its support behind the U.S.-led anti-terrorism coalition.
The militant groups say Pakistan has abandoned them at a crucial stage.
"It's betrayal of millions of Kashmiris and nothing else," Musa said.
Pakistani officials said the government is "readjusting Kashmir policy" in view of tensions on the border. But militants say Jihad, or holy war, is the only solution.
"We are extremely worried about those brothers who are fighting Indian rule in Indian-occupied Kashmir," Musa said, adding: "We will face the situation with courage and bravery but will not surrender before the Indian troops in Kashmir."
©2002 Associated Press
When given the choice to support the war on terror or the Taliban, General M chose correctly. The USA would never allow Pakistan nukes in the hands of terrorists!!!!!!!!!!!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.