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Politics : World Affairs Discussion -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Brumar89 who wrote (14)	6/29/2002 4:52:34 PM
From: ChinuSFO	Respond to of 3959

Yes, now I recall, that one letter was mailed from overseas and hence it has international connections. And the timing also suggests that it could have international connections.

To: Brumar89 who wrote (14)	7/1/2002 9:16:47 PM
From: ChinuSFO	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 3959

Brumar89, this is a fine example of what US foreign policy success if they mediate between warring parties in a neutral manner. It is when they start taking sides as in the ISraeli-Palestenian situation , thet they run into failures. Hard-line Islamic political party in Kashmir breaks links with Pakistan, militants MUJTABA ALI AHMAD, Associated Press Writer Sunday, June 30, 2002 ©2002 Associated Press URL: sfgate.com (06-30) 17:23 PDT SRINAGAR, India (AP) -- In a dramatic about-face, the most influential and hardline Islamic political party in Indian-controlled Kashmir announced on Sunday it was not seeking Kashmir's merger into Pakistan. The Jama'at-e-Islami also said it had no links with Islamic militants staging terror attacks and strikes on military targets since 1989 and hinted that it could break ranks with other Kashmiri separatists and consider participation in elections. The announcement was described as a significant development ahead of state elections in Kashmir. The Himalayan region has been the cause of five decades of tensions between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan and two wars. India accuses Pakistan of sponsoring the 12-year insurgency, which has left more than 60,000 people dead. Islamabad denies the allegation. For five decades, Jama'at has struggled politically for a merger of Jammu-Kashmir, India's only Muslim-majority state, into Islamic Pakistan. However, Jama'at's president Ghulam Mohammad Bhat said Sunday that there is no mention of merging with Pakistan in the party's constitution. "We didn't ever even pass a resolution demanding accession since we have been working here," he told reporters. The Jama'at is the only one of the hard-line Islamic parties in Jammu-Kashmir that has an organized, disciplined, region-wide network and thousands of members spread across the Kashmir Valley. Bhat also said he wants to "make it clear that we have no connection with the militants or militancy, particularly with the Hezb-ul-Mujahedeen," the biggest of a dozen militant groups fighting India. Many Jama'at members have been arrested or detained over the decade on suspicion they were working secretly for Hezb-ul Mujahedeen. Jama'at also expressed differences with the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, a group of 24 Muslim religious and political groups in Kashmir to which it belongs. The Conference, which opposes Indian control of the region, boycotted the last elections in the Indian state of Jammu-Kashmir. Indian officials have for months asked Kashmiri separatist parties to take part in the elections planned for September or October if they want to prove that they are the true representatives of Kashmiris. Bhat said that "right now" Jama'at has "no plans of participating in the polls, but anything can happen in the future." He added that his party would not call for a boycott of the elections, which he said would be "unlawful." The ramifications of Bhat's announcement were unclear. In the past, groups or leaders in Kashmir have made announcements, only to reverse them later. At other times, new factions have formed. Indian political scientist Haseeb Ahmad described Bhat's comment as "the biggest gain for the government of India since the onset of the militancy." "This is a clear indication that the Jama'at wants to reaccept ... the basic framework of the Indian democratic setup in Kashmir," he said. ©2002 Associated Press