Hizbul dangles ceasefire again, this time rope longer

Setting again the talk about a ceasefire in Kashmir abuzz, Hizbul Mujahideen supremo Syed Salahuddin has set three conditions for holding the fire in the state.

Setting again the talk about a ceasefire in Kashmir abuzz, Hizbul Mujahideen supremo Syed Salahuddin has set three conditions for holding the fire in the state. The conditions are release of prisoners, demilitarisation and end to human rights violations. Significantly, Salahuddin this time omits the demand for consideration of Kashmir as a disputed state, otherwise a staple condition for its previous offers of truce to New Delhi.

“We are ready to announce a truce even today but for that India will have to accept our three conditions. Release of all prisoners, cut the strength of troops to pre-1989 position and end of human rights violations,” Salahuddin says in a telephonic interview to a local news agency. In fact, Hizb supremo expresses a passionate wish for the peace in Kashmir. “We took up gun as a last resort and we would be the happiest people if guns on both the sides fall silent. But, India will have to prove its sincerity first and take some major steps”.

Salahuddin also debunks the reports that Pakistan was cracking down on the militants in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. “My presence in Muzaffarabad itself proves that these are just rumours,” said Salahuddin. He added that “Mujahideen” in Kashmir have acquired latest technology and are self reliant. “We are not dependent on any country to pursue our legitimate struggle for freedom.”

Story continues below this ad

Salahuddin admits that “Indian agents have infiltrated into the militant ranks and that Hizb cadres have now been instructed to be extra-vigilant.

Talking about the growing role of the J-K police in fighting militancy, Hizb supremo acknowledges that the police was causing the “maximum damage to the Mujahideen”. He terms the trend as the “biggest victory for the occupational forces”.

Salahuddin does not encourage the return of Kashmiri Pandits to Valley and warns that “this time their return will add to the complications”. “Before returning, Pandits would have to restore their lost credibility,” he added.