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Daring Red Fort Attack Sets Back Fragile Peace Process In Kashmir
NEW DELHI (AFP) - The shock attack on New Delhi's historic Red Fort has sent a clear message to Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee that his Kashmir ceasefire initiative holds little meaning for hardline Islamic guerrillas.
Abu Usama, the commander of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, which killed three people in the attack, summarized the groups' position in an interview with The Pioneer newspaper Sunday.
"It is immaterial whether Pakistan, India or Kashmir have appreciated the Indian prime minister's ceasefire gesture. We are working for the freedom of Kashmir from Indian security forces," Usama said.
Asked if groups such as his would face difficulties if Pakistan changed tack on Kashmir and came down hard on Kashmiri fighters, Usama said: "I really do not see it happening.
"We are Islam-based and fighting for our Islamic brethren. The Pakistan government understands this very well."
Lashker-e-Taiba chief Hafiz Saeed on Saturday told India to expect more attacks.
"We take full responsibility ... and there will be more on soldiers, army installations but not civilians," Saeed said.
On Friday night, two gunmen from the group killed a soldier, an army barber and a civilian employee in a hail of bullets as the military garrison held a party at the Mughal-built Red Fort.
Home to a 500-strong military garrison, the fort is also one of India's main interrogation centers where hundreds of Kashmiri fighters have been held in the past.
Kashmir's fighters have rejected a unilateral ceasefire by Indian troops in Kashmir, announced for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and extended for four weeks on Wednesday, as a propaganda ploy.
But Home Minister L.K Advani said the government would not allow “militants” to sabotage the tentative peace process.
He did not rule out the possibility of talks with groups and a dialogue with Pakistan after an "assessment" of its behavior during the extended ceasefire.
However, Advani maintained a resumption of the stalled dialogue with Pakistan was contingent upon "Islamabad stopping the support and assistance it has been giving to cross-border terrorism in India."
Asked whether this ruled out talks with Pakistan in the immediate future, he said: "We don't say that."
Advani said the ceasefire had been announced to allow the government to make an assessment of the situation on the ground, especially with regard to Pakistan, which India accuses of aiding Kashmir’s fighters.
"First, when the ceasefire was announced in November-end, the initiative had a fixed time limit. Now it is open-ended. By one month what happens on the ground will be reviewed by the government," Advani said.
Meanwhile, the All-Party Hurriyat Conference, the political Muslim umbrella group for Kashmir, on Sunday said the body would be the conduit of any talks between India and Pakistan.
"We are a party to a dispute and no party to a dispute can pass for a mediator," Hurriyat Chairman Abdul Gani Bhat said in Srinagar.
"We would, however, as the principal party, choose to apply keys with a purpose to unlock the doors of goodwill and understanding."
The Hurriyat is seen in both India and in Pakistan as a bridge for possible talks. It is treading a delicate path between approval of India's ceasefire while demanding India accept tripartite talks involving it and Pakistan.
Bhat said a Hurriyat delegation was ready to travel to Pakistan.
"Hurriyat has fairly and sufficiently expressed its willingness to travel to Pakistan, not on a pleasure trip, but to engage the leaders of boys with guns," he said.
The conflict in Kashmir has claimed 34,000 lives since its launch in 1989.
Pakistan and India have fought two of their three wars over the mountainous region, which is claimed by both and divided between them.
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