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Pakistan Condemns Lone’s Murder, Warns Any strike by India Would Provoke War
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| Tension on LoC is dangerously escalated |
ISLAMABAD, May 21 (IslamOnline & News agencies) - Pakistan Tuesday issued an angry condemnation of the "cold-blooded murder" of Abdul Ghani Lone, a senior Muslim leader in Indian Kashmir, and warned that any cross-border action by India would provoke retaliation, news agencies reported.
The Pakistani government said in a statement carried out by Agence France-Presse (AFP): "The murder of Abdul Ghani Lone is yet another incident in the continuing reign of terror unleashed by the occupying forces in Indian-held Kashmir for the last 12 years".
"The occupying forces have been engaged in a brutal effort to crush the Kashmiri spirit through murder, violence and rape. They will never succeed in achieving their despicable design."
Pakistan's government expressed its condolences to Lone's family and the leadership of his All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC), the main independence claiming alliance in Kashmir.
Lone was killed in Srinagar, the state summer capital of the Indian portion of divided Kashmir, as he attended a public function.
Meanwhile, top Pakistani military spokesman Major General Rashid Qureshi told AFP: "Any incursions into Pakistani territory or Azad (Pakistani-controlled) Kashmir will be responded to and met with full force."
Analysts say signals from New Delhi indicate the Indian government is determined to launch limited strikes on alleged independence claiming camps in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir.
"If that happens it will definitely provoke a retaliation by Pakistan and the situation can spin out of control," political commentator Khalid Mahmood of the Islamabad-based Institute of Regional Studies told AFP.
Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf called a meeting with political leaders on Wednesday when a joint session of the cabinet and the National Security Council will also review the military stand-off.
"We are very close to war. It can happen anytime. It is madness at its peak," writer and political analyst Imtiaz Alam said.
The two countries already have around a million troops massed on their borders, and are waging artillery duels across the Line of Control (LoC) which divides Pakistani and Indian areas of Kashmir.
The border skirmishes erupted after India blamed Pakistan-based guerrillas for an attack last week in Jammu, the Kashmiri winter capital, that killed 35 people.
Defense analyst and writer Mohammad Afzal Niazi said pressure on the Indian government for some sort of military action inside Pakistan-controlled Kashmir was too intense for it to ignore, AFP reported.
"Neither government can afford to go down in the eyes of their public," he said.
"The Indians cannot afford to not take action after having massed troops for six months and the Pakistanis cannot afford to back down from their often repeated threat of meeting any aggression with full force."
The forces were deployed on the borders after India blamed Pakistan for an attack on the Indian parliament in December. Pakistan vehemently denied the charge.
Mahmood said India could make pre-emptive strikes against alleged independence claiming groups’ targets in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir but it would not be within New Delhi's power to stop a chain reaction.
"I am sure the Pakistanis will not let the Indians get away with it," he said, but added that a key factor in the spiraling tension would be the United States' strong desire to avoid a war.
"War between India and Pakistan is not in the U.S. interest because it will divert the focus from their war against terrorism," he said.
Pakistan said its vigilance on the western border with Afghanistan and cooperation with the U.S.-led fight against terrorism will continue. However, Pakistani officials admit privately that this could be jeopardized by an outbreak of hostilities with India.
Sources said there was already a thinning of troops on the borders with Afghanistan and Iran and that the process would gain momentum if the Indians did not back off.
Some Pakistani media carried unconfirmed reports of the movement of Pakistani nuclear-capable missiles to forward positions.
Pakistan consistently called for negotiations with India, however, and military spokesman Qureshi said: "Pakistan does not want war, but if the war is thrust on us, we will retaliate with full force."
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