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| India-Pakistan |
| Kashmiri separatists condemn the hit attempt on Perv |
| 2003-12-28 |
| I’ve never heard of these guys before, mayb Fred or Paul can deconstruct these folks for me. Muslim separatists in Indian Kashmir Friday condemned an assassination attempt on Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf and said they hoped it would not spoil a forthcoming key regional political summit. "It’s a senseless and shameful act. We condemn it outright," said Molvi Abbas Ansari, who heads the moderate wing of the region’s main separatist alliance, the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC). Fourteen people died in twin blasts in Islamabad on Thursday intended to kill Musharraf. It was the second attempt to kill him in 11 days. "We can’t say who has done it but it has come at a time when a congenial atmosphere was being created for the SAARC summit," Ansari told AFP. He was referring to a summit of leaders from the seven-nation South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (SAARC), due to be held from January 4 to 6 in Islamabad. Ansari appealed to both countries to go ahead with the summit. Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee has said he will attend the summit, and there are hopes that his visit could boost peace efforts between the nuclear-armed nations. The two almost went to war last year over disputed Kashmir, where a revolt against Indian rule has left more than 40,000 dead since 1989. Veteran separatist leader Shabir Shah also denounced the assassination bid. "Such acts should be condemned in the strongest possible words," Shah told AFP, adding the attack was the work of those "who want to weaken Pakistan". "Unfortunately, it has also come at a time when India and Pakistan are inching closer to a dialogue and all eyes are focussed on SAARC," said Shah, who spent more than 20 years in prison for espousing Kashmir’s secession. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #1 The Hurriyat is an alliance of a couple dozen non-violent political parties, unions, etc. that all support either independence for Kashmir, or it's accension to Pakistan. It includes the front organisations for many Jihad outfits, and for the past decade it's leaders have been able to live a life of luxury due to siphoning off of funds that they were meant to pass on to the Jihadis. Recently, the Hurriyat split, with the hardline, pro-Pakistan elements affiliated with the Jamaat-e-Islami split off. The moderates dominate the alliance now, although due to their obvious corruption they have little support amongst those Kashmiris who do want independance. |
| Posted by: Paul Moloney 2003-12-28 12:48:39 AM |