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Kashmir violence is not freedom struggle: PM

By Neena Vyas

NEW DELHI, AUG. 5. The Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, today assured a group of 300 Muslim clergy, academics, lawyers and others that the peace process initiated by him ``would continue.'' He asked them to create public opinion that what was going on in Kashmir was not ``jehad'' but gross acts of terrorism in which hundreds of innocent lives were being lost.

Mr. Vajpayee is understood to have said that the SAARC meeting in Colombo would offer an opportunity to Foreign Secretaries of India and Pakistan to meet on the sidelines. He said that despite all odds, efforts to establish peace would continue as the peoples of the two countries wanted peace.

The group, led by two ministers, Mr. Shahnawaz Husain and Mr. Omar Abdullah, had gone to the Prime Minister's residence to congratulate him on the steps taken by him towards establishing peace in the sub-continent.

Mr. Vajpayee said that even as External Affairs Minister in 1977, he had tried to establish friendly ties with Pakistan. He had picked up the threads again when he became Prime Minister and the Lahore Declaration was the result. At Lahore, Pakistan had condemned terrorism in all its manifestations, but unfortunately at Agra - the invitation for the summit had been extended despite Kargil - the Pakistan President, General Pervez Musharraf, refused to acknowledge terrorist activities in Kashmir. ``By no stretch of imagination can the violence being witnessed against innocent people in Kashmir be described as freedom struggle,'' he is reported to have told them.

Mr. Abdullah is understood to have said that while the Jammu and Kashmir Government has been fighting militants and creating public opinion against terrorists posing as ``jehadis'', a similar attempt should be made throughout the country . Muslim intellectuals, particularly, can help to create the understanding that what is happening in Kashmir is no freedom struggle or ``jehad'' but the brutal murder of innocent people.

The issue of doubts being raised about activities in ``madrasas'' also came up. Mr. Vajpayee noted that Muslims should not pay heed to rumours and there was no question of generally blaming ``madrasas'' for harbouring or encouraging terrorist elements.

Terrorism will be crushed: Advani

ALIGARH, AUG. 5. In a blunt message to Pakistan, the Union Home Minister, Mr. L.K. Advani, today said it would not tolerate cross-border terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir and would crush it with a heavy hand.

Describing terrorism in the State as the ``biggest problem facing the Vajpayee Government'', Mr. Advani said here that killing of innocent people could never be termed as ``freedom struggle'' as has been done by ``the leader of the neighbouring country''.

Condemning the killings in Doda in the last few days, Mr. Advani said ``which Government will tolerate it? Which nation will tolerate it?''

``If you have to fight freedom struggle, fight it with security forces. Killing innocent people after kidnapping them amounts to spreading terror only,'' he said addressing a gathering after unveiling statue of freedom fighter, Mohan Lal Gautam, here. ``If somebody thinks like that, it should be clear to him that it will be crushed''.

On the Agra summit, Mr. Advani said the main reason for non- agreement between India and Pakistan was Gen. Musharraf's public statement on television describing cross-border terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir as ``freedom struggle''. ``At that time, it was clear that there could be no agreement in Agra''.

`Dawood back in Pak.'

The underworld don, Dawood Ibrahim, prime accused in the 1993 Bombay blasts case, had left Pakistan during Gen. Musharraf's visit to India last month and returned soon thereafter.

Mr. Advani said when he met the Pakistani military ruler, he had demanded that the underworld don, who was living in Pakistan, be handed over to India. Gen. Musharraf had denied that Dawood was in Pakistan, he recalled, and said, ``we have information that Dawood left Pakistan on July 12 and returned on July 19''.

- PTI

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