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| Afghanistan/South Asia |
| Hafiz Saeed interviewed |
| 2004-08-27 |
| EFL "Pakistan is in fact a country for the Muslims of the subcontinent. Therefore, it is incomplete without Kashmir. Pakistan is also incomplete without Hyderabad, Junagar and Munabao because these states had announced accession with Pakistan but the Hindus subjugated them. That is why, it is our duty to free these states from the Hindus' subjugation and assure their Muslim population that they will become part of Pakistan. This is our agenda of Pakistan's completion. We will continue to propagate it in India through speech and writing and take theses states back through jihad," says Hafiz Saeed, the founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba in an interview with the weekly magazine Nida-e-Millat [the voice of the nation; Aug 18, 2004]. When the former primer minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee visited Lahore in 1999, he made a special trip to Minar-e-Pakistan and acknowledged Pakistan as an independent and sovereign state. But Saeed is hell-bent to challenge that. "India has not reconciled with Pakistan's sovereignty. We cannot change the Hindu mindset by changing our policies, however, we are alienating Kashmiris and adding insult to their injury. We should be committed to our Kashmir cause. There is no need of friendship with India. First of all, the issue of Kashmir and water should be resolved. India is trying to make Pakistan infertile by blocking its water. If India is sincere with Pakistan, it should stop constructing dam on Pakistan's water and give Kashmiris freedom." The veteran jihadi Gulbadin Hekmatyar told this correspondent in an interview that Kashmir was a political issue that could not have been resolved through jihad. But Saeed challenges him too. "I am very much satisfied with the pace of Kashmir jihad. Kashmiris will win their freedom struggle. They will never live with India. The policies of Pakistan are causing them a great damage. If Pakistan ignores the US pressures and fully supports the Kashmiris, India will not be able to keep its forces in Kashmir for a longer period. It will be condemned to withdraw." |
| Posted by:Paul Moloney |