[quote]Jamaat-ud-Dawah chief Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, who is accused of masterminding the Mumbai terror attacks [ Images ], on Friday said the only solution to resolving problems between India and Pakistan is the 'liberation of Jammu and Kashmir' [ Images ], failing which radical groups will resort to the 'option of Jihad'.
Addressing a gathering of about 10,000 people at the Mall Road in Lahore [ Images ] to mark 'Kashmir Solidarity Day', Saeed said this is the message he would convey to Home Minister P Chidambaram [ Images ], if he came to Lahore during his upcoming visit to Pakistan.
"We are not against composite dialogues. I ask Chidambaram to first come to Lahore before going to Islamabad [ Images ] and hold talks with me. I will tell him a solid solution to the problems between India and Pakistan," said Saeed.
"There is only one solution to all the problems -- liberate Indian-held Kashmir. Otherwise the option of Jihad (holy war) is open for us," Saeed said.
He also warned India that the liberation of the erstwhile state of Hyderabad was also on the JuD's agenda. Saeed, also the founder of the banned Lashker-e-Tayiba, warned the Pakistan government not to fool the people in the name of the composite dialogue with India.
"Our rulers get happy whenever India expresses its wish for talks with Pakistan. I want to tell them that India will never talk about liberating Srinagar [ Images ] and Jammu and Pakistan must understand this," he said.
The JuD chief said his group "had already tested the Indian Army [ Images ]". He also spoke of the Indian role in the creation of Bangladesh by 'dividing Pakistan' and the demolition of the Babri mosque in Ayodhya. He claimed that after blaming the JuD for the Mumbai attacks, Indian leaders had now started finding the culprits responsible for the assault within their country.
Saeed also said it was the 'religious' duty of every Muslim to help members of the religion who are in trouble in any part of the world. "Now the time has come to free all occupied areas. We are on the right side," he said as his supporters cheered.
The JuD organised the gathering on the Mall Road, the main thoroughfare in Lahore, as part of a series of rallies and meetings across Pakistan on the occasion of 'Kashmir Solidarity Day', which is observed to protest the 'occupation' of Jammu and Kashmir.
These are the first major public events organised by the JuD, which had kept a low profile in the wake of the Mumbai terror attacks due to the scrutiny of its leaders.
Authorities put in place strict security measures to avert any untoward incidents during the JuD meeting. Leaders and activists of other hard-line groups also participated in the meeting. Among them were Farid Ahmed Paracha of the Jamaat-e-Islami, Hurriyat leader Ashraf Sawaf and United Jehad Council leader General Abdullah.
Saeed was detained after the United Nations Security Council declared the JuD a front for the LeT in the wake of the Mumbai attacks.
However, he was freed on the orders of the Lahore high court after six months. Seven men, including LeT operations commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, are currently being tried by an anti-terror court for allegedly planning and executing the Mumbai terror attacks.[/quote]
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/5536792.cms
[quote]NEW DELHI: The announcement that India has proposed talks with Pakistan ironically came on a day that saw a massive show of strength by proscribed terror groups, including Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jamaat-ud-Dawa, in Muzaffarabad to galvanize the ''freedom movement'' in Jammu and Kashmir.
If there was any enthusiasm over US director of national intelligence Dennis Blair's statement before the Senate that Pakistan looked upon these groups as strategic assets against India, it was quickly wiped off by the terror rally which was addressed by terrorists wanted in India.
''Islamabad's conviction that militant groups are an important part of its strategic arsenal to counter India's military and economic advantages will continue to limit Pakistan's incentive to pursue an across-the-board effort against extremism," Blair told the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday. ''Islamabad's strategic approach risks helping al-Qaida sustain its safe haven because some groups supported by Pakistan provide assistance to al- Qaida," he said, adding that Pakistan believes that it does not need to confront groups that do not threaten it directly.
Blair went on to say that Afghan Taliban, al-Qaida, and Pakistani militant groups continue to use Pakistan as a safe haven for organizing, training and planning attacks ''against the United States and our allies in Afghanistan, India and Europe".
In fact, Blair's assertions were manifested in the rally in Muzaffarabad in which members of LeT, JuD and Hizbul Mujahideen actively participated. There was no crackdown by Pakistan agencies on militant leaders who openly vowed jihad against ''Indian occupation of Kashmir''.
"The Kashmir issue cannot be resolved through dialogue. Jihad (holy war) is the only solution to free Kashmir from the Indian yoke," said Syed Salahuddin, chairman of the 16-party United Jehad Council. "I want to tell my brothers across the border that we will remain with you until India quits Kashmir," added Salahuddin, the chief of Hizbul Mujahideen.
Salahuddin demanded lifting of restrictions on JuD and immediate release of its leaders because "Indian propaganda against JuD had flopped". A statement issued after the meeting said, "Jihad will continue until India ends its occupation of Kashmir. If Pakistan cannot offer material support, it should extend its political and moral support to the Kashmir movement."
The meet was held on the eve of Kashmir Solidarity Day which Pakistan observes annually as a mark of support for the so-called freedom movement. Reports from Pakistan said that over 6,000 people participated in the meet.[/quote]
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