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Lashkar chief threatens Vajpayee, Advani

The Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Tayiba has again threatened to target Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Home Minister Lal Kishenchand Advani apart from sensitive targets as long as the Indian Army remains in Jammu & Kashmir.

The leader of the terrorist group, Mohammed Hafiz Sayeed, also opposed direct talks between India and Pakistan on Kashmir though he welcomed the idea of an All-Parties Hurriyat Conference delegation visiting Pakistan. He, however, claimed that the Indian government itself did not want this.

In what is claimed to be his first media interview, the terrorist leader told TV channel Aajtak that the 'jihad' (holy war) against India would continue and there would be more attacks of the kind that took place in the Red Fort in Delhi last December.

The Lashkar had earlier threatened in a press release on December 26, 2000, to attack the prime minister's office in New Delhi.

Sayeed said the jihad would stop and ways would be explored to find a long-term solution to the Kashmir dispute if the "800,000 men" of the Indian Army are pulled out of the state.

He said all attacks on civilians and military forces would cease the moment India announced its decision to withdraw troops from the valley.

Sayeed also claimed to get his entire cache of arms from the Indian Army, smuggled from India.

He argued that a ceasefire was no solution since the militants had called for one in 1948, but the Indian government had used this to strengthen its presence in the state.

UNI

The Government's Ceasefire: The complete coverage

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