Author: Amir Zia in Karachi
Publication: Rediff on Net
Date: May 31, 2003
URL: http://www.rediff.com/news/2003/may/31jk.htm
For the first time in years, Kashmiri
militants say Pakistani authorities are trying to stop them from crossing
into Kashmir, and accuse Islamabad of betraying their bloody struggle.
As the snows melt in Himalayan mountain
passes, infiltration from Pakistan usually picks up, and with it the violence
in Kashmir that has claimed tens of thousands of lives since 1989.
But militant sources say this summer
is different. Islamabad, keen to encourage a thaw with India, may finally
be acting to stem the flow of militants across the Line of Control dividing
Kashmir, in response to heavy international pressure.
"Since early April, mujahideen are
not being allowed to cross the LoC," a senior official of the outlawed
Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e- Tayiba said.
"Summer is the time when Pakistani
mujahideen cross into Kashmir to help Kashmiri fighters. It is a big blow,"
he said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The Indian army said on Friday it
had begun work on fencing the rugged frontier in Kashmir to stop rebel
movement.
An Indian army official said nearly
10,000 more troops had been deployed to hunt down rebels hiding in the
upper reaches of Kashmir.
The reinforcements were being sent
to the towering Pir Panjal range where a large mountain base of guerrillas
was destroyed last month. More than 60 rebels died in that operation.
If the militants are to be believed,
they have been issued instructions by Pakistani intelligence agencies to
stop crossing the disputed border, and many are heeding the call.
That would be a big boost to hopes
for peace in South Asia, where nuclear-armed India and Pakistan came close
to a fourth war last year after suspected Pakistan-based militants attacked
the Indian Parliament.
Islamabad dismantled some militant
camps last year and closed some of their offices in Pakistan proper. But
at the time militants told Reuters privately they were continuing their
activities and crossing the line of control.
This month Pakistani authorities
signalled their intent to close offices in Pakistani-occupied-Kashmir and
this time the militants, even in private, say the crackdown is beginning
to hurt.
Ameeruddin Mughal, a member of the
banned Harkat-ul-Mujahideen group, said Islamabad was betraying the Kashmiris,
but vowed the militants would defy the government.
"By not letting us cross into occupied
Kashmir, Pakistan is demoralising Kashmiris," said Mughal, a Pakistani
Kashmiri who has crossed into Indian Kashmir several times to fight.
Abdullah Waqar, a member of Lashkar-e-Tayiba
whose right foot was blown off by a mine while crossing into Indian Kashmir,
said militants would find their way past both armies along the border.
"The Indians have deployed hundreds
of thousands of soldiers. At places, there's an Indian picket every 30
metres. But still I have managed to cross the Kashmir border so many times."
(Additional reporting by Sanjeev
Miglani in New Delhi)
