 |
|
|
A United States task force on terrorism and unconventional warfare
has confirmed direct involvement of Pakistan's Inter-services
Intelligence (ISI) in sponsoring terrorism in Kashmir.
The task force, set up by a US House Republican Research Committee,
in its report, covered various aspect of Islamic terrorism, its
origin and spread to Afghanistan, Sudan and Iran. It also dealt
with Kashmir terrorism and the fundamental terrorist groups.
The report held the ISI responsible for abetting and sponsoring
terrorism in Kashmir in it as part of its overall effort to promote
Islamic international terrorism.
The US ambassador in India, Mr. Frank Wisner, on a three-day visit
to Jammu and Kashmir last week, however, told newsmen here that his
country did not have any clear evidence of Pakistani involvement in
Kashmir.
"Whenever we get any such evidence, we will proceed accordingly.
We have specific laws and any evidence has to stand the test of
these laws," he said while replying to a question on why the US did
not declare Pakistan a "terrorist state".
He, however, said the US was "angered and offended" by terrorism
anywhere.
The report said in 1986, Pakistan expanded its operations to
sponsor and promote separatism and terrorism, primarily in Kashmir,
as a strategic long-term programme.
Among the most crucial activities of the ISI were to propagate
religious fundamentalism in small but lethal doses and train and
indoctrinate selected leaders from Cashmere to create militant
cadres, it said. Several youth from Kashmir Valley and Poonch
district in Jammu region were given extensive training in the use
of automatic weapons, sabotage and attacks on security forces.
Automatic weapons and explosives had been issued to them," it said.
According to the report, special teams were trained to organise
agitations and hartals and engineer incidents to damage the secular
and democratic image of India.
"In the increase of and support for terrorism in India, Islamabad
has been able to find a task for Pakistani and Afghan cadres that
Islamabad had developed during the Afghan war and must now keep off
from meddling in Pakistani domestic affairs.
To secure the goal, Brig (Retd) Imtiaz, head of the ISI political
section, has developed a long-term programme called K-2.
The escalation of terrorism since 1990's is believed to have been a
direct outgrowth of the implementation of the K-2," the report
said.
It added: "Extent of the growing state support for terrorism and
insurgence in Kashmir is clearly reflected in the evolution of the
various organisations operating there.
By 1990 there were over 30 militant groups in Kashmir and 29 of
these have been receiving assistance and shelter in Pakistan.
The Jammu and Kashmir chief minister, Dr Farooq Abdullah, said at a
seminar which was also attended by the US ambassador , here
recently that "Pakistan is governed by three A's - Allah, Army and
America.
Accusing the US of not preventing Pakistan from aiding and abetting
terrorism in the state, Dr Abdullah said: "You know they (Pakistan)
are creating problems for us by sending terrorists and arms into
Kashmir. Tell them to stop it because we want peace".
According to the report the ISI had also established a force of
Pakistani special force dressed in Indian Army uniforms to assist
Pakistan-trained Kashmiris and the first detachments of this force
infiltrated into the Valley in July 1991.
The report said about 20,000 Kashmir! youths had been given arms
and training by Pakistan in the first three years' of militancy.
The weapons and material' used in the state are increasingly
identical to those provided by the ISI to Afghan Mujahideen
although the flow of weapons and explosives into the valley is
attributed by Islamabad to their availability in the open market in
Peshawar.
The report said after feeling that escalation of terrorism in
western India was not sufficient, Pakistan decided to insert its
own forces into the region. It said Pakistan also tried to
establish a liaison between Punjab and Kashmiri terrorists."
|
|
|