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| Ceasefire in Kashmir is out of question' | | Even 100 militants can fight Indian Army: Salahuddin | | NEW DELHI, JAN 9:
The Hizbul Mujahideen, one of the most dreaded terrorist outfts, has made a sensational revelation: With Jammu and Kashmir being 110 per cent suitable for militant activities, even 100 militants can fight the whole Indian Army present in J&K. The revelation has come from the Pakistan-based supremo of Hizbul Mujahideen, Syed Salahuddin, in his latest media interview.
Making a pointed reference to his organisation's capability of "fighting the 700,000 Indian forces", Salahuddin made yet another revelation: Hizbul Mujahideen has mobile training camps in the forests. Hizbul Mujahideen has enough instructors and is not short of fighters. Salahuddin's revelation number three: "We are fully equipped with modern weapons. After 9/11 we have successfully targeted our enemy with time bombs and remote bombs which is proof of our usage of modern technological methods".
"Our strategy", he pointed out, "is that the casualties of our militants should be less and the losses of the enemy should be more". "I am sure we are moving towards success with the passage of time", said Salahuddin, adding: "We no longer run after the number of operations, we want less casualties for ourselves and more destruction for the enemy".
Will the Hizbul Mujahideen anounce a ceasefire if India agrees to tripartite talks on the Kashmir issue? Salahuddin's reported reply: "Ceasefire is outdated now and it has been misused in the past. I still think India is neither serious nor sincere to solve this issue through talks, so a ceasefire is out of question now.... We are no longer ready to announce any ceasefire keeping in mind India's past track record. We cannot forget that India tried to use that ceasefire (of 2000) for creating differences among our own ranks and also between Pakistan and Kashmiris".
The Hizbul Mujahideen will offer a "positive" response if India, in the first place, demonstrates its sincerity by accepting Kashmir as "disputed". Three other conditions from Salahuddin: India should release Hizbul prisoners, India should .withdraw its forces to the position of 1989, and India "must stop its human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir". How can talks and militancy go side by side in the absence of a ceasefire? Pat came Salahuddin's reply: "Yes, no ceasefire. Talks can be started without a ceasefire. The same tactics were also adopted in Afghanistan and Vietnam. I am not saying anything new. I am confined to this point on the basis of India's past record".
How long can militancy in Kashmir be sustained as some ome leaders of the Hurriyat Conference say the people of Kashmir are tired of militancy and it should be abandoned? Hizbul Mujahideen chief was quoted as saying:"I want to reply with due respect that the Kashmiris are not tired; actually, these leaders are tired. The mujahideen are fighting Indian forces for almost 17 years. How can we sustain it in the region without the support of the people? The people's support and love for us can be gauged from the fact that our fellow fighters enjoy a lot of popularity in the whole of Kashmir. Whenever one of our fighters is martyred, thousands of Kashmiris gather at the funeral and chant slogans to show their support for our cause. I totally refute the statement of those who say the Kashmiris are tired (of militancy)".
On allegations against him for violating human rights and atacking civilians in Jammu and Kashmir, Salahuddin's reported reply: "We have a code of conduct for the United Jihad Council (UJC) and whoever violates this conduct is severely punished. Some people have been given the death sentence for violating this code of conduct. If we find someone working as an informer for the enemy's forces then we take him into custody and interrogate him, if he is found innocent then we set him free. Our code of conduct bars us from conducting any activity in civilian areas".
When asked to cite an example, Salahuddin said: "I can speak for my organisation. We gave the death sentence to two Hizb fighters, Muhammad Iqbal and Muhammad Hassan Khan, because it was proved that they violated the code of conduct. In another case, a Hizb fighter injured someone; we gave the same kind of injury to our man. That is why people are happy with us".
Hizbul Mujahideen, Salahuddin asserted, had no introduction or linksw with Al Qaeda. "As far as we Kashmiris are concerned, we are only confined to Kashmir. The Indians have always tried to establish our links with Al Qaeda and the Taliban. I think it is not in our interest to side with Al Qaeda because we are not fighting only for Muslim Kashmiris, we are fighting for all Kashmiris including non Muslims".
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