Pak. leaders use wedding for India-bashing

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD, APRIL 22. India bashing reached a crescendo here at a function to mark the wedding of the brother of the All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) leader, Sheikh Abdul Aziz.

Sheikh Aziz, who is here to attend the wedding of Sheik Yaqoob, was the cynosure of all eyes. Among those present at a local motel to bless the bridegroom included three ministers from the military government, the Prime Minister of Pak.-Occupied Kashmir, Barrister Sultan Mahmood, the senior leader of the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), Mr. Raza Zafarul Haq, and several activists of Pakistan-based militant organisations.

The contrast between today's function and a similar ceremony in November last to mark the wedding of son of Mr. Abdul Ghani Lone of the APHC and daughter of the Mr. Amanullah Khan of the JKLF was too glaring to be missed.

It was the demand for an ``independent Kashmir'' that reverberated the hall at the November function. In contrast today, it was the support for ``accession of Kashmir to Pakistan'' that dominated the theme of the speakers. The so- called ``third option'' for the Kashmiris did not figure at all.

It was India bashing right from the word go. The master of ceremonies and APHC executive member of the Pakistan chapter, Prof. Ashraf Saraf, set the agenda for the meeting by his opening remarks that the gathering intended to take full advantage of the opportunity to let the international community and India know about their views.

Prof. Saraf declared that the faith, determination and conviction of Kashmiris to achieve their goal of right to ``self- determination'' could not be crushed by force. He wanted the world to note that the Kashmir dispute was not an internal issue of India, not a law and order problem and that the people of Kashmir were determined to wrest their right.

He said India was present in Kashmir as a ``colonial power'' and the Hurriyat leadership could consider talks with the Indian Government only if it was prepared to concede Kashmir as a dispute involving three parties. There could be no solution to the problem within the framework of the Indian Constitution.

The speakers who followed took the cue from Prof. Saraf. The Kashmir Affairs Minister, Mr. Abbas Sarfaraj Khan, said Pakistan would continue its moral and diplomatic support to the Kashmiris till they were liberated from the clutches of Indians.

Raza Zafarul Haq said Islam and ``liberation of Kashmir'' were two issues on which there could never be any compromise in Pakistan, irrespective of who was at the helm of affairs. According to him, the track record of Indian forces in Kashmir was worse than the apartheid regime in South Africa and the Israelis in Palestine.

He said there was a ``wave of joy'' in the hearts of 14 crore Pakistanis when Shaikh Abdul Aziz touched the soil of Pakistan minutes after he landed from India.

Barrister Sultan Mohammad Chaudhary dubbed the Indian ceasefire in Kashmir as a ``hoax'' and said New Delhi's refusal to allow a Hurriyat delegation to visit Pakistan has exposed the ``hallow claim'' on the cessation of hostilities. The credit for forcing Indians to respond to the offer of talks went entirely to the Pakistan Chief Executive, Gen. Pervez Musharraf.

Shaikh Abdul Aziz promised the gathering that the Hurriyat and all others who were engaged in fighting the Indian Government and the forces would never let down the Pakistanis. He said Kashmir was not an internal issue of India.

By extending the invitation for talks to ``all and sundry'', the Indian Government was not only trying to mislead the world but also diverting attention from real issues.

He urged the international community to take note of the ``atrocities'' in Kashmir and impose sanctions against India besides sending a human rights mission for a probe.

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