Author: Rahul Datta
Publication: The Daily Pioneer
Date: February 7, 2001
The Centre's peace initiative in
Kashmir means nothing to the Hurriyat Conference hardliners and one
of its key members, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, telephonically addressed
a gathering of the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) at Muridke near Lahore on
Monday. He reportedly said that "Kashmir was part of Pakistan and
it should lead the Ummah all over the world". His telephonic address from
Srinagar was relayed to the gathering through loudspeakers. The so-called
jehadis of the LeT lustily cheered Geelani's declaration that Kashmir
was part of Pakistan, sources monitoring the Kashmir peace process said
here on Tuesday. Geelani also reportedly criticised the Indian Government
for not allowing the Hurriyat Conference members to visit Pakistan. He
claimed that "his presence in the Hurriyat was the main reason for
the Indian Government's reluctance to grant permission to visit Pakistan,"
sources said. The taped speech of Geelani was later played at various public
meetings in Pakistan organised to mark the so-called "Kashmir Day".
The LeT, Jaish-e-Mohammad and Harkat
Ul Mujahideen are three Pakistan-based militant outfits which believe
they are waging a "jehad" in Kashmir. The militants owing allegiance
to these outfits have let loose a reign of terror in Kashmir in the last
few months. In fact, the LeT stepped up the terrorist activities
during the ongoing ceasefire period and carried out audacious attacks
on Red Fort, security forces camps and threatened to blow up the Prime
Minister's Office (PMO).
Given this backdrop, Geelani's speech
saying that "Kashmir was part of Pakistan and that it should lead
the Ummah all over the world" have set the alarm bells ringing amongst
the strategists here responsible for chalking out the peace process, sources
admitted.
The Union Cabinet Committee on Security
(CCS), meanwhile, on Tuesday reviewed the situation in Jammu and
Kashmir in the wake of extended ceasefire. The CCS also took stock
of the developments having a bearing on security in other parts of
the country.
The meeting chaired by Prime Minister
Atal Bihari Vajpayee was attended among others by Union Home Minister
L K Advani, Union Defence Minister George Fernandes and External
Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh. The recent attacks on Sikhs in the strife-torn
state reportedly figured during the meeting.
