SRINAGAR, 29 August 2006 — The pro-independence Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) will oppose any attempt by Al-Qaeda to set foot on the soil of Kashmir.
“Any association with Al-Qaeda would only harm the present movement as the whole world is pitted against the outfit and we are sure to lose sympathy for our just cause should we have any liaison with it,” JKLF Chairman Mohammad Yasin Malik told a news conference here after his three-month long sojourn in the USA for treatment.
He appealed to the people of Kashmir not to support the global pariah Al-Qaeda outfit in what he said was the “interest of their own movement for which they have given huge sacrifices.” “People of Kashmir should not support Al-Qaeda as this would tantamount to inviting global hostility to our long standing struggle,” he said.
“Our cause is just and our sacrifices are colossal. I appeal to all that we must continuously return to our basic principles and we must ensure that we all put forward an ethical articulation of our struggle so that we are properly understood and we win more and more friends around the region and the world as we move forward,” Malik said.
The JKLF chief announced the launch of a nonviolent resistance program by his group that would start here on Sept. 7.
“We will offer arrests on Sept. 7 and from Sept. 9 peaceful protests would be held in all major towns in Kashmir against the recent human rights violations in Kashmir. He wanted the Indian prime minister’s zero tolerance on human rights violations to be “honored and observed in letter and spirit.” “The prime minister had given the assurances during his Kashmir visit in May and he should ensure that his commitment on the soil of Kashmir is carried out by the deployed troops on the ground.”
He also said, “The patience, compassion, perseverance and unflinching belief in the destined victory of justice that the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) of Islam and his companions showed in the face of inhuman persecution and humiliation are unparalleled in the history. That type of nonviolent movement, which shows love for all and hatred for none, is the soul of Islam and is an example I believe to be relevant to the Muslims today.”
Malik said during his US visit he appealed to all the American Muslims to “focus on education and to shine in those diverse fields of study that will give them the ability to contribute to the betterment of the world and properly represent the true beauty of Islam.”
Meanwhile, Indian troops raided a village yesterday, killing two suspected militants, the army said.
A gunbattle between soldiers and gunmen lasted more than six hours, said army spokesman Col. Hemant Juneja. There were no Indian Army casualties. Juneja said his forces received a tip that a group of militants were hiding in the village of Chatusa, some 75 kilometers (46 miles) north of Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian Kashmir.
