Lorne, this is not a discussion of Muslim dogma. Just Muslim & Hindu politics.
Analysis:Hindus' slaying jars peace effort
By Harbaksh Singh Nanda
From the International Desk
Published 7/14/2002 2:31 PM
NEW DELHI, July 14 (UPI) -- The death of 27 Hindus at the hands of suspected Islamic rebels in India's strife-torn Kashmir province has thwarted the international efforts to
reduce tensions between arch rival neighbors India and Pakistan.
India's Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishan Advani, after visiting the site Sunday, termed the slaughter as "terrorism in its most naked form."
The war clouds hovering for the last seven months had appeared to thin in recent weeks; and as people of both nations were breathing quiet sighs of relief the militants
struck Saturday night, mowing down 27 Hindu migrant laborers in a slum on the outskirts of Jammu, the winter capital of Kashmir.
The shooting took place within a day after U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell announced his plans to visit India and Pakistan at the end of July to further the peace
process that he had initiated between New Delhi and Islamabad during his last visit to the region.
Armed rebels robed as Hindu holy men descended on the slum, firing and hurling hand grenades indiscriminately at residents. At least 27 people including 12 women and
two children were killed.
At least 25 others were wounded in the bloody shootout. No militant group has so far claimed responsibility, and Pakistan has condemned the attack.
Nevertheless, "this incident has wiped off all the peace work done lately," political analyst Sanjiv Tiwari said. "We are back to square one."
Some Indian ministers are hinting at Pakistan's involvement in the incident, rhetoric often said after such incidents.
"All this is happening with the inspiration of Pakistan," Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha said before a meeting of Cabinet Committee on Security.
Sources in the Indian government said Sunday that New Delhi is now rethinking its strategy of withdrawing troops positioned along the Pakistan border. The forces have
been there since late 2001, after five suspected Kashmiri militants broke into India's Parliament on Dec. 13 and killed six staff before they themselves were killed.
More than a million troops are lined along either side of India-Pakistan border with nuclear tipped missiles positioned at each other's targets.
Washington extracted a promise from Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf to end the infiltration of armed Islamic guerrillas into the Indian side of Kashmir and to crack
down on Islamic rebel training camps in the Kashmir region administered by Pakistan.
India said last week that the infiltration had reduced somewhat but Musharraf was yet to live up to his promises to completely end cross border terrorism.
Pakistan "has given an assurance (about ending cross-border terrorism) but we have to see how they translate this on the ground," said India's Advani on Sunday.
He added, "The objective of the terrorists is amply clear: To spread terror by killing people without any discrimination, whether civilians, armed forces personnel, women
and children."
Britain, from whom India and Pakistan gained independence in 1947, condemned the massacre on Sunday and conveyed its sympathy to the families of victims.
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said in a statement: "I am horrified by this attack on innocent civilians. Terrorism -- be it in Jammu and Kashmir, or anywhere else --
only serves to renew the determination of the free world to defeat this evil."
India blames Pakistan for fueling a 13-year-old separatist Islamic uprising in Kashmir, India's only Muslim majority state. Pakistan, which does not recognize Kashmir as
an Indian state, denies the charge but does support what it calls the "just freedom struggle" of Muslims in the region.
More than 37,000 people have died -- the rebels put the toll at 80,000 -- and hundreds of thousands have fled areas in which they are a minority. Both India and Pakistan
claim whole of Kashmir and the two have fought two of the three wars over troubled Himalayan region.
Hindus comprise 82 percent of India's more than a billion people, but it is also home to world's second largest Muslim population after Indonesia.
Copyright © 2002 United Press International |
