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Vajpayee Slams Pakistan on India's Independence Day
NEW DELHI, Aug 15 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, speaking from behind a bulletproof glass shield on the ramparts of New Delhi's historic Red Fort, delivered another verbal jab at his country's Muslim neighbor during an Independence Day speech Wednesday.
Vajpayee's accusations that Pakistan continued to support violence in Kashmir came in the wake of more deaths as Kashmiri activists allegedly shot down five Hindus - including three women, according to a CNN report - Tuesday night in southern Kashmir. Two more people were killed Wednesday morning while trying to recover one of the bodies, which had been booby-trapped with a grenade.
In a separate incident, individuals threw a grenade at an official Independence Day ceremony at a school in the northern Kashmiri township of Handwara, injuring five soldiers and 13 civilians.
Referring to his landmark summit with Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf in Agra last month, Vajpayee blamed the Pakistani leader for the breakdown of the talks.
"Unfortunately, he [Musharraf] was not keen to improve relations... He came with just a one-point agenda - that we agree on Pakistan's demands on Kashmir.
"But there was no question of accepting his argument that terrorism in Kashmir was a freedom struggle," he said. "What kind of freedom struggle is this, where innocent people are being killed? For whom is this freedom struggle fought?
"These activities are unholy and are opposed to Islam and humanity," Vajpayee continued, noting that violence in Kashmir had spiraled after the Agra summit collapsed.
The prime minister pledged that India would use every possible force to quell the long-running Muslim uprising, which New Delhi claims is sponsored by Islamabad.
"India wants the process of dialogue with Pakistan to go on, but I would like to assure the people of Kashmir that we will not leave any effort to crush Pakistan-sponsored terrorism."
Meanwhile, nine policemen were injured when their vehicle ran over a landmine in southern Kashmir's Doda district; one deputy district commissioner had a narrow escape when his vehicle was damaged in a similar blast.
Some 70,000 policemen, backed by commandos and soldiers, had turned New Delhi into a virtual fortress for Vajpayee's annual address. Helicopter surveillance was maintained around the Red Fort, which was declared a no-fly zone for the day.
Hundreds of thousands of security personnel were also deployed in Kashmir and India's northeast region, where boycotts muzzled Independence Day celebrations.
The Kashmiri summer capital, Srinagar, looked like a city under curfew, with residents heeding Kashmiri groups' calls to remain indoors, with security patrols guarding all main intersections.
India's Border Security Force ringed all vital installations, such as the state-owned radio and television stations, while a four-tier security cordon was thrown around Bakshi Stadium - venue of the main Independence Day ceremony.
Meanwhile, life in five of India's seven northeastern states was paralyzed, with at least 12 outlawed groups calling for a 17-hour shutdown to protest New Delhi's "colonial and repressive" rule.
India and Pakistan have fought three wars, two over Kashmir, which is divided between the two countries and claimed by both.
More than 35,000 people have died since the conflict began in 1989. Pakistan, which puts the death toll as high as 70,000, denies Indian charges that it sponsors "terrorism" in the region, but states that it provides moral and diplomatic support for the Kashmiris' struggle for self-determination.
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