Kashmir violence could turn ‘ugly’: Hafiz Saeed

Saeed accuses India of trying to disrupt peace process with Pakistan, dragging its feets on Kashmir issue.


Reuters January 11, 2013
“We do not want any force to be used or any military operation for this. But the Indians are opting for the other alternative,” Hafez Saeed. PHOTO: REUTERS/FILE

ISLAMABAD: Founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) Hafiz Saeed, accused of masterminding the 2008 Mumbai massacre, said on Friday that India was trying to destabilise Pakistan and predicted violence in the disputed region of Kashmir could get “ugly”.

“We do not want any force to be used or any military operation for this. But the Indians are opting for the other alternative,” Hafez Saeed told Reuters in a telephone interview on Friday.

Saeed LeT in the 1990s, the militant group which India blames for the rampage in Mumbai, where gunmen killed 166 people over three days. He denies any wrongdoing and links to militants.

He denied Indian press reports that he had been inciting action against the neighbouring country just before the recent outbreak of the worst violence in Kashmir since the nuclear-armed neighbours agreed a ceasefire nearly a decade ago.

In the third fatal attack in Kashmir this week, a Pakistani soldier was killed on Thursday by “unprovoked” Indian fire, a Pakistan Army spokesman said.

He was shot while manning a post in the Battal sector of Kashmir, which is split between the two sides by a heavily fortified border known as the Line of Control (LoC), the spokesman said.

Saeed accused India of trying to disrupt the peace process with Pakistan and dragging its feet on the long-standing issue of Kashmir.

“This is their usual practice. Betraying the international community and destabilising Pakistan,” said Saeed. “And that’s what they are doing this time.”

India and Pakistan have fought three wars since becoming independent from Britain in 1947, two of them over the Himalayan region of Kashmir.

Relations had shown signs of improving in the past year after souring again in 2008 after the Mumbai bloodshed.

Both governments have expressed anger over the latest Kashmir attacks even as senior officials sought to calm fears that right-wing groups could seize the opportunity to derail years of diplomatic rapprochement.

India has repeatedly called on Pakistan to bring Saeed to justice, an issue that has stood in the way of rebuilding relations between the nuclear-armed neighbours since the carnage in Mumbai.

India is furious that Pakistan has not detained Saeed sinceit handed over evidence against him to Islamabad. Washington has offered a reward of $10 million for information leading to Saeed’s capture.

COMMENTS (36)

vinod kumar gulati | 11 years ago | Reply

@Rex Minor Both sides, there are a number of persons who still remember the details of the tragedy of the partition and the reasons. They are of the view that the partition was made just to meet the wishes of some power greedy persons – they had no real concern with the happiness and other values of any particular section. The time has changed. Now, in the global economy, the inhabitants of all the countries in this sub-continent are more concerned for the happiness of their families and for that, peaceful living is the first condition and the only one condition. If peace is not there, they can not pay attention to better bringing up. If Pakistan and Bharat decide to get unified, the issue of Kashmir will disappear for ever, the shops of terror groups will shut down and other countries in this sub-continent may come forward and closer to save the money being spent on defense and border manning. To start with, they can increase cultural and social exchanges and adopt a single currency like EURO for both countries, they may introduce demilitarization of the internal borders, free trade and visa on arrival for short spells of time but with an oath to respect each other’s interests against every kind of invasion by any third one.

Iqbal | 11 years ago | Reply

@Saki Naka: You have shot yourself in the foot, haven't you? Before you make any nationalist views and adopt those brainwashed ides imposed in madrassas you should first research your facts. Always look for independent facts and this one from BBC sums up the "war" you are talking of: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/1735912.stm I am sure you will conclude that if it were to happen then Jinnah's creation will be history.

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