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For Immediate
Release
Kashmir News Network
August 30, 2001
Combating Islamic Terrorism:
Time For Words Is Over
There has been an escalation of ghastly violence against Hindus
by Pakistan-sponsored terrorists in the Indian state of Jammu and
Kashmir. The most recent series of incidents in the Jammu region has
included massacres of scores of Hindus and beheading of priests. This
follows the pattern in Kashmir valley, where over 350,000 Hindus were
hounded out by Pakistan-sponsored terrorists in 1990.
These terrorists, egged on and materially supported by Pakistan, want to
extend Islamic rule to the state and to other territories of India. The
response of India, which continues down the negotiation path with
Pakistan, and by the United States, which has repeatedly refused to
include Pakistan in its list of terrorist sponsors, is disheartening.
Over a dozen terrorist groups such as Harkat-ul-Mujahideen and
Lashkar-e-Toiba are based in Pakistan and its satellite state
Afghanistan. The two
countries host terrorist camps in collaboration with Bin Laden's Al
Qaida, and their operations extend from Philippines to Bosnia. They
threaten to bring Islamic jehad to the west and have made good on their
threats at the World Trade Center and elsewhere.
Despite numerous olive branches extended by India and gentle pressure
applied by the United States, Pakistan has refused to disband these
terrorist groups, or to end its support to the Taliban. Afghanistan
itself has been turned into a medieval wasteland. In Pakistan, the
economy and the well being of the population have been bartered away in
exchange for a fundamentalist utopia. In Jammu and Kashmir, Hindus and
other pro-India civilians have been killed by the thousands every year
since 1989, women are forced to wear veils, and movie theaters and cable
TV are banned.
All these events are fast converging with a dangerous nuclearization of
Pakistan. The time for words and gentle negotiation is long gone. This
fundamentalist nuclear-backed menace, which intends to extend its reach
across the entire world, is more dangerous than individual rogue nations
such as Iraq.
An urgent need exists for concerted action led by India and the United
States in containing and driving back these forces. A Gulf War style
operation needs to be planned and implemented without further delay
against Pakistan and Afghanistan. Once Pakistan deploys the many nuclear
devices it is building, it may be too late to contain the coming
fundamentalist explosion.
Subodh Atal, Lalit Koul, Sunil Fotedar
Executive Editors
For further information, please
contact:
Lalit Koul
Executive Editor
Kashmir News Network
Email: editor@kashmirherald.com
Kashmir News Network, based in
United States, manages many Kashmiri websites including:
www.ikashmir.org , www.kashmiri-pandit.org , www.panunkashmir.org ,
www.kashmirherald.com and
www.kashmirnews.org. |
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