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Kashmir prepare { May 22 2002 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A54382-2002May22.htmlhttp://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A54382-2002May22.html
India's PM to Visit Kashmir Border
By Neelesh Misra
Associated Press Writer
Wednesday, May 22, 2002; 3:39 AM
KUPWARA, India –– India's prime minister visited soldiers on the tense Kashmir frontier Wednesday, telling them to prepare for a "decisive battle" against Pakistan-supported Islamic insurgents. Cross-border shelling has killed dozens and reignited fears of war between the nuclear-armed rivals.
Hundreds of soldiers in bulletproof vests patrolled the mountain roads surrounding the army base where Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee addressed soldiers, many with minesweeping equipment and sniffer dogs. Helicopters hovered above.
Vajpayee asked the soldiers "to be ready for sacrifice. Your goal should be victory. It's time to fight a decisive battle. We'll write a new chapter of victory."
Shortly after Vajpayee arrived in Kashmir province on Tuesday, masked gunmen assassinated a leading Kashmiri peace advocate during a ceremony marking the murder of another independence leader 12 years ago.
The shooting of Abdul Ghani Lone, a moderate, soft-spoken Muslim separatist leader who sought dialogue with India to bring self-determination for Kashmiris, comes at a time of heightened tension over the disputed Himalayan region.
India and Pakistan have fought two wars over Kashmir. The United States, the European Union and others are worried that the renewed border skirmishes could lead to another war.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Lone's murder, and the assailants got away.
The Kashmir Valley was on strike Wednesday, with public transportation, shops and businesses shut down in protest of the killing and Vajpayee's visit.
Before his death, Lone had said Indian authorities had tried to kill him and that an Islamic militant group fighting to separate Kashmir from India had threatened his life.
Hours after his death, his son, Sajjad Lone, told The Associated Press Television Network that Pakistan and its spy agency killed his father. He backtracked Wednesday.
"That was an emotional outburst," Lone said in an interview with Aaj Tak television. "We are in a state of mourning. This is not the time to raise a finger at anyone."
He and his father have urged the Pakistan-based Islamic militants who have fought Indian forces in Kashmir for 12 years to give the region's war-shattered residents a chance to find a nonviolent way of expressing their desires for self-government.
Pakistan condemned Lone's murder and blamed Indian security forces for his death.
"The murder of Abdul Ghani Lone is yet another incident in the continuing reign of terror unleashed by the occupying forces in Indian-held Kashmir for the last 12 years," the Pakistani foreign ministry said in a statement.
Vajpayee's office in New Delhi said the prime minister had made a condolence call to Sajjad Lone.
"He condemned the attack on Shri Lone and conveyed his heartfelt sympathies to the bereaved family," Vajpayee's office said in a statement. Shri is a Hindi term of respect for men.
Secretary of State Colin Powell also expressed regret.
"Mr. Lone sought to achieve his goals through peaceful, democratic means and courageously stood up to extremists," Powell said in a statement. "His killers are clearly among those who oppose a peaceful political resolution there."
Lone, 70, was killed shortly after Vajpayee arrived in Jammu, the winter capital of Jammu-Kashmir state, to visit an army base that was attacked by suspected Islamic militants last week. Thirty-four people were killed, mostly wives and children of soldiers. The assault increased tension among 1 million troops posted on both sides of the border since December.
India blamed Pakistan and Islamic militants based there for the attack, expelled the Pakistani ambassador, and reorganized maritime and ground forces under the military. An extra 3,000 soldiers were sent to the frontier on Tuesday.
Pakistan's ambassador to Britain, Abdul Kader Jaffer, told BBC radio on Tuesday the nuclear-armed neighbors were "very close" to war, and he called for sanity.
Indian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Nirupama Rao was vague when asked if the two countries were on the brink of war.
"Nowhere has India been belligerent, but things have reached a pass where India's sovereign interests have to be defended," she said.
Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan by a 1972 cease-fire line, called the Line of Control.
The United States, Britain and the European Union have urged both countries to exercise restraint and recommended talks, which Pakistan favors. Washington said it would send Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage to the region to help defuse tensions.
India has refused talks until militants based in Pakistan stop crossing the border to stage attacks. India accuses Pakistan of arming, training and financing the guerrillas, who have been fighting since 1989 for Kashmir's independence or merger with Pakistan.
Islamabad says it has no control over the militants and only supports the ideology of the "freedom fighters."
© 2002 The Associated Press
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