Islamabad, September 23
Upping the ante, Pakistan today said there could be no result-oriented discussions with India on Kashmir unless New Delhi stops treating it as the country’s integral part and seeking a solution within the ambit of the Indian Constitution.

Intensifying the criticism of the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit called on India to “revisit its approach and its Kashmir policy rather than trying cosmetic measures here and there because this is not going to bring about any difference as far as the Jammu and Kashmir dispute is concerned.”

“Unless India takes a fresh look at its Kashmir policy, does some introspection and stops treating Jammu and Kashmir as its integral part and stops harping on seeking a solution within the Indian Constitution, we do not believe that we can really have any meaningful or result-oriented discussions with India on this (issue),” Basit told a weekly news briefing.

He was responding to a question on the Indian government’s efforts to address the protests in Jammu and Kashmir by sending a delegation of political leaders to meet Kashmiri leaders.

Basit noted that the Hurriyat Conference had already rejected the move.

He also described as “self-serving” India’s rejection of resolutions passed by both houses of Pakistan’s Parliament condemning the violence in Jammu and Kashmir and calling on the international community to ensure the implementation of UN resolutions on Kashmir.

“Jammu and Kashmir is an international issue and subject of several UN resolutions. The Senate and National Assembly resolutions of September 20 reflect the concerns of the people of Pakistan on the gross and systematic violations of human rights of the Kashmiri people by Indian security forces,” he said.

Basit noted that the UN Secretary General had called for an end to the violence while the Organisation of the Islamic Conference and Amnesty International had asked India to end the violence and protect the rights of people. — PTI 

A top US counterterrorism official has warned that the Lashkar-e-Toiba can try and disrupt the Commonwealth Games to be held in New Delhi next month.

Describing the event as an “appealing target” for the Pakistan-based terrorist group, Michael Leiter, director of the National Counterterrorism Centre, told lawmakers on Wednesday that LeT could target the Games due to its “political and economic significance for India, as well as the heightened media exposure that will accompany the event”.

Leiter’s comments will fuel security concerns that have already cast a shadow over the Games following an attack on two Taiwanese tourists outside the Jama Masjid in Delhi on Sunday.

Leiter said the LeT posed a threat to a range of interests in South Asia and its attacks in Kashmir have had a destabilising effect and heightened tensions and brinkmanship between New Delhi and Islamabad.

US and Indian officials say the LeT was behind the attacks in Mumbai in 2008. “The group continues to plan attacks in India that could harm US citizens and damage US interests,” Leiter said. He added that the group’s involvement in attacks against American and coalition troops in Afghanistan and support to Taliban and Al-Qaida extremists there pose a threat to the US and coalition interests. He warned that the group could also pose a direct threat to the US and Europe, especially if it colludes with Al-Qaida operatives.

In recent months, the FBI has disrupted several plots, including some that have involved Americans. These plots suggest Al-Qaida is putting “more emphasis on finding recruits or trainees from the West to play key roles for these homeland-specific operations,” FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III told lawmakers. He warned that the potential exists for Al-Qaida to use and train other Americans for attacks in the US.

“Al-Qaida continues to exert its influence over these extremist organisations around the world, and we are increasingly concerned about the potential for some of these groups — operating in countries like Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, and Iraq — to focus more on homeland attacks in the coming years,” Mueller said.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano underscored the threat posed by “homegrown” terrorists, who she described as Americans “who were radicalised in the United States and learned terrorist tactics either here or in training camps in places such as the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan”.

Napolitano said terrorist organisations were increasingly seeking operatives who are familiar with the United States or the West. “In their roles as terrorist planners, operational facilitators, and operatives, these individuals improve the terrorist groups’ knowledge of western and American culture and security practices, which can increase the likelihood that an attempted attack could be successful,” she said.

Leiter noted that the Al-Qaida in Pakistan was at present at one of its weakest points organisationally. However, he added, the group had proven its resilience over time and remained a “capable and determined enemy”.

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