'JKLF planning independent State of J&K'

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD, JULY 16. The Pakistan-based Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) is contemplating ``establishment of an independent state of Jammu and Kashmir'' including parts of PoK, Newsline, a monthly magazine of the Jang group has reported.

The July issue of the magazine which hit the stands today in a report titled ``declaration of independence?'' has claimed that an announcement about ``establishment of republic of J&K'' is most likely to be made on August 14.

The JKLF group in Pakistan is led by Mr. Amanullah Khan and it had enthusiastically welcomed the autonomy resolution adopted by the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly as opposed to the All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) which had rejected it as a ``fraudulent exercise.'' In the event of the JKLF going ahead with the reported plan of ``declaration of independence,'' it will have no more than a symbolic significance. The JKLF has been demanding restoration of what it terms the ``distinct national identity'' of Kashmir.

Quoting insiders in the JKLF, the magazine said the front was in the process of finalising the ``postage stamps of azad Jammu and Kashmir.'' It also published two samples of the postal stamps. One such stamp has a quotation of Nehru. It says that ``we have declared that the fate of Kashmir is ultimately to be decided by the people of Kashmir.'' Another stamp bears quotation of the founder of Pakistan, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, that ``Indian States can choose to be independent.''

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : International
Previous : Price differences holding up T-90 deal
Next     : Fiji rebels warn of further unrest