Fazal-ur was more than PR: ‘Kashmiris won’t get our guns forever’

Returning home, Pakistan’s hardline Opposition leader Maulana Fazal-ur Rahman today raised hackles when he declined to retract from his...

Returning home, Pakistan’s hardline Opposition leader Maulana Fazal-ur Rahman today raised hackles when he declined to retract from his remarks made in India and said, ‘‘we will not give guns to Kashmiris for ever and they should be given an opportunity to live in peace.’’

Immediately after crossing into Pakistan from Wagah border, Rahman, chief of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, faced a barrage of questions from reporters on some of his remarks made in India.

But the Maulana said he would not ‘‘waste the results of my Indian visit in denial or clarification of what I had said in India. People will know all things with time.’’

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Asked about the Kashmiris’ struggle, Rahman said: ‘‘We shall not give guns to Kashmiris for ever.

“Kashmiris should also be given an opportunity to live in peace. We must continue our efforts for a peaceful solution to the Kashmir problem.’’

Claiming his party does not have link with any Kashmiri group, he said, ‘‘The Kashmir dispute can be resolved through plebiscite. The Shimla Agreement and Lahore Declaration could help in this regard.’’

‘‘The Indian Prime minister (Atal Behari Vajpayee) told me he recognises India and Pakistan as realities.’’ Vajpayee, he said, recalled his visit to Minar-e-Pakistan in Lahore. ‘‘Mr Vajpayee said friends are changed but not neighbours.’’

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The JUI chief said Vajpayee agreed to visit Pakistan in January next year but was of the view that SAARC was not a forum for Indo-Pak bilateral talks. He said Vajpayee suggested a minister-level meeting before the PM-level talks.

Rahman said he would apprise Pakistan PM and Parliament about his meetings with the Indian Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition as well as other Indian leaders.

‘‘We were on a goodwill trip which was aimed at paving the way for dialogue to settle disputes,’’ he said, adding he had achieved success to some extent. Rahman said he had conveyed to Vajpayee and other Indian leaders the goodwill messages of Pakistanis. ‘‘The Indian Prime Minister and other organisations welcomed our visit.’’ (PTI)