Militants warn Pak against ‘retreat’

Islamabad, May 20: Top militant leaders of the Lashkar-e-Tayyaba and Hizbul Mujahideen have warned Pakistan government against softening its stance towards India and threatened to wage a "war in Islamabad and Lahore" if there is any "retreat" on the Kashmir issue.

Speaking on the eve of the resumption of the composite dialogue process between India and Pakistan, Syed Salahuddin, the chief of the militant conglomerate United Jehad Council, said that the Kashmir issue’s importance had increased as India, Israel and the US had made "Pakistan their target".

Salahuddin, who is also head of the Hizbul Mujahideen, told a conference in Sialkot that his organisation would wage "war in Islamabad and Lahore" if the "Kashmir liberation movement suffered due to the Pakistani rulers’ cowardice, retreat and pro-India policies".

He claimed that Pakistan’s rulers had created "problems for themselves" by "extending a hand of friendship towards India". Salahuddin also said the government had created dangers along the border with Afghanistan while "safeguarding US interests". He claimed Pakistan’s foreign office was "paralysed" and had not taken up the alleged rights abuses in Jammu and Kashmir. (PTI)