Author: M Zulqernain
Publication: Rediff.com
Date: February 5, 2010
URL: http://news.rediff.com/report/2010/feb/05/jud-chief-saeed-wants-to-meet-chidambaram.htm
Jamaat-ud-Dawah chief Hafiz Mohammad Saeed,
who is accused of masterminding the Mumbai terror attacks, on Friday said
the only solution to resolving problems between India and Pakistan is the
'liberation of Jammu and Kashmir', failing which radical groups will resort
to the 'option of Jihad'.
Addressing a gathering of about 10,000 people
at the Mall Road in Lahore to mark 'Kashmir Solidarity Day', Saeed said this
is the message he would convey to Home Minister P Chidambaram, if he came
to Lahore during his upcoming visit to Pakistan.
"We are not against composite dialogues.
I ask Chidambaram to first come to Lahore before going to Islamabad and hold
talks with me. I will tell him a solid solution to the problems between India
and Pakistan," said Saeed.
"There is only one solution to all the
problems -- liberate Indian-held Kashmir. Otherwise the option of Jihad (holy
war) is open for us," Saeed said.
He also warned India that the liberation of
the erstwhile state of Hyderabad was also on the JuD's agenda. Saeed, also
the founder of the banned Lashker-e-Tayiba, warned the Pakistan government
not to fool the people in the name of the composite dialogue with India.
"Our rulers get happy whenever India
expresses its wish for talks with Pakistan. I want to tell them that India
will never talk about liberating Srinagar and Jammu and Pakistan must understand
this," he said.
The JuD chief said his group "had already
tested the Indian Army". He also spoke of the Indian role in the creation
of Bangladesh by 'dividing Pakistan' and the demolition of the Babri mosque
in Ayodhya. He claimed that after blaming the JuD for the Mumbai attacks,
Indian leaders had now started finding the culprits responsible for the assault
within their country.
Saeed also said it was the 'religious' duty
of every Muslim to help members of the religion who are in trouble in any
part of the world. "Now the time has come to free all occupied areas.
We are on the right side," he said as his supporters cheered.
The JuD organised the gathering on the Mall
Road, the main thoroughfare in Lahore, as part of a series of rallies and
meetings across Pakistan on the occasion of 'Kashmir Solidarity Day', which
is observed to protest the 'occupation' of Jammu and Kashmir.
These are the first major public events organised
by the JuD, which had kept a low profile in the wake of the Mumbai terror
attacks due to the scrutiny of its leaders.
Authorities put in place strict security measures
to avert any untoward incidents during the JuD meeting. Leaders and activists
of other hard-line groups also participated in the meeting. Among them were
Farid Ahmed Paracha of the Jamaat-e-Islami, Hurriyat leader Ashraf Sawaf and
United Jehad Council leader General Abdullah.
Saeed was detained after the United Nations
Security Council declared the JuD a front for the LeT in the wake of the Mumbai
attacks.
However, he was freed on the orders of the
Lahore high court after six months. Seven men, including LeT operations commander
Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, are currently being tried by an anti-terror court for
allegedly planning and executing the Mumbai terror attacks.
