Author: Majid Jahangir
Publication: The Indian Express
Dated: March29, 2006
The largest indigenous Kashmiri militant group,
the Hizbul Mujahideen, has now come out in the open to slam Islamabad saying
the General Pervez Musharraf government is "harming their cause."
Vowing not to give up the gun, speaking to
The Indian Express, Hizbul's Operations Chief Gazi Misbah-ud-Din called the
recent developments in the Indo-Pak peace process as "futile."
Hizb, which advocates Kashmir's accession
with Pakistan, had initiated direct talks with New Delhi in 2000 and was seen
as a possible peace partner in an Indo-Pak dialogue on Kashmir.
"The Pakistani establishment is not toeing
its own country's traditional stand on Kashmir," said Gazi, "we
believe that the gun still is very important and has a pivotal role to resolve
the Kashmir problem. New Delhi is not sincere enough to resolve the Kashmir
issue through dialogue. We are not joining any dialogue."
Slamming Pakistan ·for welcoming what
he called "pro-India" politicians, Gazi said: "Not only the
Pakistani government but the ruling Muslim Conference (in Pakistan Occupied
Kashmir) added insult to our injuries. It is a huge tragedy for Kashmiris
that politicians like Omar Abdullah are greeted with open arms in Pakistan.".
