GENEVA: The cofounder of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front as said Pakistan has a clear and precise plan to foment trouble in Kashmir and that India has walked into the trap set by that country’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISD).

“The idea was that to provoke India to such & point that the situation acts out of hand ~in that Pakistan has succeeded,” Hashim Qureshi held this correspondent in an exclusive interview.

The exiled leader, who lives in Amsterdam, said India could-“and would” expose Pakistan’s designs in Kashmir. “If New Delhi announces that it is willing to sit down and discuss all aspects of the Kashmir issue, Pakistan will stand opposed in the international arena.”

By “all aspects,” he’ said he meant not only the issue of Kashmin independence, but also that of Jammu, Pakistan occupied Kashmir, Baltistan and Ladakh.

Qureshi were elections to be held in Kashmir, Muslim fundamentalists would carry the day. “Pakistan has succeeded in driving a wedge between the people of Kashmir and India and they have used their brand of Islam to do this,” he said.

Qureshi, who is very critical of the Indian security forces, said it was India’s actions in recent years that had driven the people of Kashmir toward fundamentalists, “The fundamentalist’s fire one shot, and the Indian security forces go on a rampage destroying entire villages. By doing this, India behaved just like Pakistan wanted to,” he asserted.

He said if New Delhi wanted to regain the confidence of moderate Kashmiris, perpetrators of Sopore like incidents will have to be brought to book. “Unless people are punished, the average Kashmiri will continue to think that New Delhi is behind the carnage.”

Qureshi, who shot to fame after he hijacked an Indian Airlines plane in 1971, now swears by Mahatma Gandhi. “One didn’t expect anything from Pakistan, given their track record, but one had a lot of hope in India, the country that gave the world Mahatma Gandhi,” he said.

He is known as a moderate among Kashmin leaders. He asserted that he was very much a part of the JKLF despite the attempts of fundamentalists and the president of the outfit, Amanullah Khan, to keep him out, “I was one of the founders and I am still in the JKLF. My being there is the greatest threat to Amanullah Khan and the ISI.”

He claims massive support in Kashmir as well as in the diaspora. “People are just beginning to see that they are being used, but they are also afraid of India,” he said.

Commenting on Pakistan’s campaign against India at various international for a, especially at the Human Rights Commission in Geneva, Qureshi said these were all attempts to embarrass India since Pakistan has no concern for human rights. “Look at what they have been doing in their own country for the past 45 years,” the exiled leader said.

As for Islamabad’s other “concern” the plight of the Muslims in the world and especially in India, Qureshi said “This is rubbish. Whyisn’tPakistan doing anything about Bosnia, or the 400 Muslims deported from Israel or the Kurds in Turkey who are they trying to fool?”

Equally hypocritical was Pakistan’s claim that it was serving the cause of Islam internationally, he said. Qureshi came down heavily on what he called “Isi’s brand of Islam” which was being used to goad fundamentalist elements in Kashmir, “They are closing cinema houses in Kashmir, they want women to wear the purqa-but what about women in Pakistan occupied Kashmir, or Lahore or Multan? What about cinema houses and prostitutes in Lahore and Multan?”

Qureshi said Islamic countries who were supporting Pakistan were “stooges of the West” and that Pakistan itself had played the role of a “condom” in perpetuating foreign interests in its part of the world.

People of Kashmir should be told that Pakistan is defending neither Muslims nor Islam, nor for those matter human rights, Qureshi said. “If there is peace in Kashmir, Pakistan’s political class and its generals will be out of business. That is what Pakistan is defending,” he said.

Qureshi has just returned from a tip of West Asia, where he said Kashmiris had given him a mandate. He is planning to go to Pakistan soon to further the political process he wants to set in motion, “T would also like to travel to India to talk to the secular forces there,” he sad,

Last summer, Qureshi had called for tripartite talks with representatives of “all” sides.

Article extracted from this publication >>