Muntazir's psychosis: For India and Pakistan, the only solution is the full implementation of Islam." Western-imposed democracy is not the answer" for either Pakistan or India.
"We have our own hit list," he said, listing the heads of all security forces in Indian Kashmir.
Kashmiri Rebels Pressure Pakistan Some Fighters Want Guns and Money, Not Diplomatic Aid
By Pamela Constable
Washington Post Foreign Service
Wednesday, October 20, 1999; Page A23
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Oct. 19-Islamic guerrilla groups fighting in
Indian Kashmir have welcomed the "moral, political and diplomatic
support" offered by Pakistan's new military ruler for the Kashmiri
independence movement, but some are demanding a commitment of
weapons and money as they intensify their rebellion.
"Every leader in Pakistan says they will support us diplomatically. We need
one that will support us militarily. This is not real support," said Abdullah
Muntazir, spokesman for the Lashkar-e-Taiba group, one of about a
dozen armed organizations fighting against Indian forces in the disputed
Himalayan border region.
Gen. Pervez Musharraf, who seized power in a bloodless coup last week,
pledged on Sunday his unflinching support for the Kashmiri independence
movement.
But in a nationally televised address, Musharraf volunteered to withdraw
some troops from the India-Pakistan border and away from Kashmir and
said he hoped to resume stalled negotiations with India about the future of
the region. He made no mention of the Islamic guerrilla groups.
Musharraf's handling of the explosive Kashmir issue will be closely
watched abroad as India's and Pakistan's friends in the West, especially
the United States, judge whether the general is sincere in his pledge to try
to reduce tensions.
As armed forces chief under now-deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif,
Musharraf sent Pakistani troops and paramilitary forces into Indian
Kashmir last spring, triggering a 10-week conflict with India in the remote
Kargil mountains that ended in July when Sharif withdrew the troops.
The military leadership considered the withdrawal a humiliation, and it was
one of the factors that apparently led to Musharraf's decision to topple
Sharif on Oct. 12.
Musharraf's more conciliatory tone since assuming power has disappointed
the guerrillas, who since the withdrawal from the Kargil region have
increased their campaign of violent sabotage in India's Kashmir Valley.
The leaders of a guerrilla coalition here, the United Jihad Council, warned
the new military government against being swayed by "internal or foreign
intrigues." Muntazir said his organization strongly opposes any negotiations
with India, unless the armed Kashmiri groups are allowed to participate.
"If Musharraf thinks dialogue is the solution, he is welcome to try," he said.
"But we believe the only solution to Kashmir is jihad," or holy war.
Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan, and both countries claim
the region as their own. In 1990, Kashmiri guerrillas began battling security
forces in Indian Kashmir, but by 1997 the insurgency had been largely
crushed. Following Sharif's decision in July to pull both Pakistani military
forces and guerrilla groups back from the conflict, the Pakistan-based
guerrillas shifted their campaign to the Kashmir Valley and began recruiting
local Kashmiris again.
"This has been a very good year for us. The entire Kashmir Valley has
become a battlefield now," Syed Salahuddin, leader of both the Hizbul
Mujaheddin guerrilla group and the United Jihad Council, said in a recent
interview. "We believe the solution to our problems is the gun, and we will
continue to the last drop of Kashmiri blood."
More than 350 people have died in guerrilla attacks in Indian Kashmir
since early September, when parliamentary elections were held there over
several weekends. One candidate was shot to death, others had their cars
blown up by mines and numerous police stations and army patrols were
assaulted with grenades or automatic weapons.
Both Muntazir's and Salahuddin's offices keep careful records of each
attack--Muntazir's in a leather bound diary, Salahuddin's in a computer.
They regard each incident as another step in their strategy to destabilize
India, spread conservative Islam, undermine Indian democracy and
ultimately free Kashmir and unite it with Pakistan.
"Our rate of actions is 100 times what it was a year ago," said Muntazir,
24, a slender and soft-spoken man, ticking off the number of police
stations attacked, Indians wounded and "mujaheddin martyred," or
guerrilla fighters killed. "We have no problems with weapons or manpower
now, and we have met our infiltration targets. The people are as helpful to
us as they were in the early 1990s. It is all due to the help of Allah," the
God of Islam.
Despite their lethal agenda, both groups claim that they are sure to avoid
attacking civilians. In recent weeks, there have been a series of attacks in
Kashmir on movie theaters, video parlors and cable TV offices, which
Islamic extremists view as indecent entertainment. But both Muntazir and
Salahuddin denied their organizations were responsible.
"This is entirely against our code of conduct," said Salahuddin, 50. "We are
a legitimate freedom movement, and we do not want to be stigmatized with
the terrorist label."
Yet according to their chilling logic, anyone who participated in India's
electoral process, which they view as a fraud, is susceptible to attack.
During the campaign in Kashmir, posters were seen warning people against
voting or they would face "dire consequences."
Muntazir said last week's military takeover in Pakistan is proof that
"Western-imposed democracy is not the answer" for either Pakistan or
India. But he added that military rule is "not the answer either. The only
solution is the full implementation of Islam."
Muntazir said he did not know anything about attacks on political
candidates in Kashmir, but he issued a warning for the future. "We have
our own hit list," he said, listing the heads of all security forces in Indian
Kashmir. |
