No place, no need for al Qaeda in JK: UJC

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

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

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

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

He claimed that it was due to the ''freedom movement'' that Indiahad been pressurised to withdraw troops from some areas in Jammu andKashmir.

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

He said releasing a CD at this crucial stage was a ''pre-plannedconspiracy of the Indian secret agencies'' to create confusion andchaos within the militant organisations, defame the 'Jehadi' leadershipand to dub the indigenous and legitimate ''freedom struggle'' of thepeople of Jammu and Kashmir as terrorism to garner internationalsupport.

On Friday, a CD and a statement purportedly from al Qaeda werecirculated among some media organisations and reportedly distributed inmosques 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 anAK assault rifle in his hand, also lashed out at the Hurriyat and otherseparatist 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 peopleof 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 againstIndia, saying it was their religious obligation and quoted verses fromthe Holy Quran to support his argument.

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

The statement, in Urdu and Arabic, issued by Abu Abdul Rehman AlAnsari, who described himself as ''India chief'' of al Qaeda, claimedthat 1,000 copies have been distributed in mosques during Fridayprayers in the Kashmir valley.

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

UNI