New Delhi, September 12
Terrorist groups based in Pakistan have threatened to target nuclear and military installations all over India in their bid to escalate their separatist campaign, reports reaching here from across the border say.
Some half-a-dozen groups have dramatically stepped up their jingoistic campaign since the failure of the India-Pakistan summit at Agra in July. In the past fortnight, the threats have taken an ominous turn.
While some of the threats to hit “sensitive installations” in India have been made publicly in Pakistan, some warnings have been reported by Pakistan’s Online news agency monitored here.
Sheikh Jamilur Rehman, leader of Tehrukul Mujahideen that is active in Jammu and Kashmir, has vowed to attack Indian political leaders as well as the country’s nuclear and military installations.
He said the attacks would be carried out if India “does not cease atrocities on Kashmiris immediately.” He said his group would attack these installations to avenge Indian military operations in the Himalayan state.
“We have a very effective network throughout India and nothing is out of our reach,” he told Online.
Lashkar-e-Toiba chief Hafiz Saeed said jehad would not be limited to Jammu and Kashmir. “There is no limit to it. If someone is going to stop us from carrying our mission, we will declare jehad against him as well, he added.
He said: “We plan major operations against the Indian military installations in Kashmir and would continue to carry such actions until its liberation.”
At a seminar organised by Al Bader Mujahideen, separatist groups pledged to launch large-scale attacks against “sensitive” Indian military installations and target important personalities.
Al Bader Mujahideen deputy head Amir Hamza has also been quoted as saying that jehadi activities will continue till Kashmir was liberated.
The United Jehad Council, a Pakistan-based grouping of Kashmir separatist groups, has threatened to target “sensitive installations” in India if New Delhi did not halt its “repression” in Kashmir.
Its Vice-Chairman Muhammad Usman said his group might open “another war front like Kargil.”
He said the Kashmiri separatist campaign, which has claimed more than 25,000 lives since 1989, “has entered a decisive phase. We are weighing the option of an open war with India by capturing a part of Kashmir.”
Hizbul Mujahideen deputy supreme commander Maulana Muhammad Javed Qasoori has similarly threatened to extend military attacks throughout India.
Al Badar Mujahideen chief Bakht Zameen has urged Islamabad to concentrate on strengthening the separatist campaign instead of “wasting time seeking a negotiated settlement”.
Hizbul Mujahideen supreme commander Syed Salahuddin said the armed struggle in Kashmir was gaining momentum. He warned that if big powers did not realise their responsibilities, South Asia could plunge into a nuclear war.
Indian officials have blamed terrorist groups linked to Pakistan and some of which are active in Kashmir for a string of deadly bombings and suicide missions in the country.
IANS
