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Musharraf bans Lashkar, Jaish; invites Vajpayee for talks
By B. Muralidhar Reddy
The Pakistan President, Pervez Musharraf, addressing the nation on Saturday. - AP/Pakistan Television
ISLAMABAD, JAN. 12. In his much-awaited address to the people of Pakistan, the President, Pervez Musharraf, tonight banned the Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad along with three other sectarian and religious extremist outfits and urged the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, to sit across the table for resolution of the Kashmir dispute in accordance with the wishes of the people of the State for normalisation of Indo-Pak. ties.
The hour-long address was direct and aimed at addressing the concerns of the international community and India to some extent _ on religious extremism and militancy in Pakistan. In a significant pronouncement aimed at addressing the concerns of New Delhi on cross-border terrorism, Gen. Musharraf said that while Pakistan would continue its moral and political support to the Kashmir movement, no individual or organisation would be allowed to indulge in acts of terrorism in the name of Kashmir.
Besides the Lashkar and the Jaish, the other three sectarian and religious outfits outlawed by Gen. Musharraf were the Sipah-e-Sahaba (extremist Sunni organisation), the Tehreek-I-Jafria Pakistan (militant Shia outfit) and Tehreek-I-Nifaz-e-Sharaiat Mohammedi, a militant outfit that took hundreds of volunteers to Afghanistan to fight the U.S..
Pakistanis won't be handed over
On the list of 20 wanted persons sought by India, Gen. Musharraf categorically ruled out handing over of any Pakistani citizen and said they would be dealt with under the laws of the country if evidence against them was provided. However, with regards to Indian citizens on the list, he said Pakistan had not given `asylum' to any of them and could consider their extradition if they were found in Pakistan.
Right from the word go, Gen. Musharraf launched a diatribe against the religious extremist forces in Pakistan and sought to make it clear that they would no longer be allowed to challenge the writ of the state. He spelt out what he characterised as `rules of behaviour' that would henceforth govern all citizens and organisations in Pakistan and declared that ``the writ of the state shall prevail''.
``Pakistanis are sick of sectarian violence and the day of reckoning has come. It is a day of taking major decisions. Do we want to convert Pakistan into a theocratic state? Can we run the country only through religious education or make Pakistan a progressive, modern and dynamic state?'', he asked.
Mosques can't be used for inciting violence
Gen. Musharraf said mosques would not be allowed to be used for political purposes and for inciting people to violence and announced that soon an Ordinance would be promulgated on bringing the religious schools into the mainstream. Every religious school would have to register with the Government and no new mosque could be opened without obtaining a no objection certificate from the Government.
Foreign students in the seminaries would be required to give all details of their background and permission from the country they belong to by March this year. He asserted that no one in the country would be allowed to interfere in the `internal affairs' of other countries.
Gen. Musharraf's speech was aimed at the people of Pakistan, the Prime Minister of India, the international community in general and the United States in particular. Towards the fag-end of his speech, he chose to address Mr. Vajpayee directly on the issue of Kashmir and the military build-up along the borders.
U.S. help sought
Turning to the international community, Gen. Musharraf said he would like to particularly address the U.S. and send out a clear signal that Pakistan rejected terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. He maintained that Pakistan would never allow its territory to be used against any other country but, at the same time, he appealed to the U.S. to play its role in resolution of the Kashmir tangle.
``Let there be no illusion. We have to find an amicable solution to the Kashmir dispute for peace and harmony between India and Pakistan. On Kashmir, we expect you to ask India to end state terrorism and allow neutral and U.N. observers to monitor human rights violations''.
Gen. Musharraf was unsparing in his attack on the extremist religious forces in Pakistan and asked the people to ponder on the damage they have caused to the country in the eyes of the comity of nations. He repeatedly referred to their recent role in siding with the Taliban militia and maintained that they had never bothered about the welfare of the people of Afghanistan or Muslims.
Wage jehad against poverty, illiteracy
The Pakistan President dwelt at length on the concept of `jehad' (holy war) and said that under Islam, only the state had the authority to wage a militant struggle against oppression and denial of rights to fellow Muslims. He wondered why the religious extremist forces in Pakistan had never bothered to wage jehad against fundamental issues like poverty, illiteracy and backwardness.
``There is a perception that Pakistan has become a soft state and the writ of the Government does not run. Let me declare here with all the authority at my command that no individual or organisation in Pakistan would have the right to break the law. And those who break the law would be dealt with sternly'', Gen. Musharraf said.
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