Hizb truce call pointless: Four militant groups

Srinagar, Aug 20 (UNI) Four militant organisations -- Al Nasireen, Farzandan-e-Millat, Save Kashmir Movement and Al-Arifeen -- have jointly ridiculed the Hizbul Mujahideen for ''parroting the ceasefire call'' and also questioned the outfit's appeal to the Kashmiri Pandits to return to their homes in the Valley.

In a faxed statement, Samiullah, who claimed to be the spokesperson of the four militant groups, said Hizb chief Syed Salahuddin's call for troop withdrawal from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) was ''regrettable'' as it could throw the region into the ''Indian lap''.

He ridiculed the Hizbul Mujahideen for ''parroting the call for ceasefire'' and asked the outfit to desist from issuing such statements. ''Until India declares publicly that it wanted to resolve the Kashmir issue as per its historical perspective, calls for ceasefire are pointless,'' the spokesman added.

''It is not understood why the Hizb parrots the idea of ceasefire even as the thorns of previous truce are stuck in it.'' It was on July 25, 2000, that the Hizbul Mujahideen had declared a unilateral ceasefire for three months, but called off the truce on August 8, 2000, following India's refusal to include Pakistan in any trilateral talks over the Kashmir issue as proposed by the outfit.

During an interview with a local news agency, Kashmir News Service, Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin had laid down conditions for announcing a truce in the strife-torn state. However, he said ceasefire should not be a condition for holding a dialogue.

''If India were serious about finding an amicable and lasting solution to the Kashmir issue, then it should refrain from laying any such condition,'' Salahuddin added.

He said if the world community insisted on truce, then India should take some steps, which would help in confidence building.

''India should bring troops in Jammu and Kashmir to the 1989 position, release detainees, stop all military operations and acknowledge there are three parties to the dispute...Then there is no problem in ceasefire,'' the Hizb chief said.

Salahuddin also heads the United Jehad Council (UJC), the Muzaffarabad-based umbrella organisation of several militant groups operating in Jammu and Kashmir.

The spokesman also questioned the Hizb's repeated pleas to the Kashmiri Pandits to return to their homes in Valley.

Salahuddin had alleged they had migrated at the behest of the then state Governor Jagmohan. ''If they want, they can return and even take part in the freedom movement which does not belong to the Kashmiri Muslims only, but all,'' the Hizb chief said.

The spokesman also took strong exception to Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf's policy on Jammu and Kashmir, saying he had no right to decide the matters pertaining to the state.

''Gen Musharraf should consult jehadi leadership of Kashmir so that he could be briefed about the dynamics of the Kashmir issue and doesn't commit any mistake while taking decisions,'' he added.

The four militant outfits shot into limelight for opposing the launch of the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus service. They had repeatedly warned the passengers to cancel their travel plans and threatened to turn the cross-border bus into a ''coffin''.

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