No place, no need for al Qaeda in J

Srinagar, Jun 10 (UNI) The Muzafarrabad-based United Jehad Council (UJC), an umbrella organisation of several militant groups, has strongly ruled out the presence of al Qaeda in Jammu and Kashmir, saying there was ''no place'' and ''no need'' for the international terror group in the state.

In a statement here, a UJC spokesman Syed Sadaqat Hussain alleged that it was a ''plot of the Indian secret agencies to malign the indigenous character of the ongoing liberation struggle'' of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

There was no al Qaeda operative in Jammu and Kashmir and no reality in such ''baseless and fabricated reports'' which also came out on July 13 last year, he said.

''There is no need and no place at all for al Qaeda in Jammu and Kashmir. For the past 18 years, a strong and well organised movement is going on in the state as a result of which the Kashmir dispute has been highlighted at international level,'' the spokesman added.

He claimed that it was due to the ''freedom movement'' that India had been pressurised to withdraw troops from some areas in Jammu and Kashmir.

''We know how to fight for our freedom. We are fighting on our own and there is neither any importance nor any need for al Qaeda in Jammu and Kashmir,'' the spokesman said.

He said releasing a CD at this crucial stage was a ''pre-planned conspiracy of the Indian secret agencies'' to create confusion and chaos within the militant organisations, defame the 'Jehadi' leadership and to dub the indigenous and legitimate ''freedom struggle'' of the people of Jammu and Kashmir as terrorism to garner international support.

On Friday, a CD and a statement purportedly from al Qaeda were circulated among some media organisations and reportedly distributed in mosques during prayers here.

In the CD, a man, wearing a black mask and speaking in Urdu, declared 'Jehad (holy war)' against India. The masked person, with an AK assault rifle in his hand, also lashed out at the Hurriyat and other separatist leaders and the UJC.

He said the UJC was hand-in-glove with the Hurriyat leadership to ''subvert the armed struggle'' in Jammu and Kashmir and that the people of Jammu and Kashmir have put up a heroic struggle in the face of ''Indian brutalities''.

The man called upon all the Muslims to wage a holy war against India, saying it was their religious obligation and quoted verses from the Holy Quran to support his argument.

The 15-minute VCD, shot against a blank background, also featured photographs of some separatist and political leaders of the state.

The statement, in Urdu and Arabic, issued by Abu Abdul Rehman Al Ansari, who described himself as ''India chief'' of al Qaeda, claimed that 1,000 copies have been distributed in mosques during Friday prayers in the Kashmir valley.

The authorities here said they were verifying the authenticity of the CD and the statement.

UNI