LAHORE - Ameer Jamaat-ud Dawaa (JuD) Hafiz Muhammad Saeed has called upon the Pakistan government and the media to highlight freedom movement in Held Kashmir as a matter of reciprocating sentiments of Kashmiris who are braving the worst atrocities of the Indian troops to become a part of Pakistan.

“It is high time that Indian barbarities and killing of Kashmiris are brought to the notice of international community through every means, so that true face of India can be exposed and pressure can be built on it to give Kashmiris their committed right to self determination as it was done in the case of East Timor,” Hafiz Saeed told a gathering of senior mediamen speaking on the current situation in Held Kashmir here yesterday.

He said current wave of Kashmir movement was different from the past when a variety of options were put on the table. “This time round Kashmiri youth are in the frontline whose only demand is affiliation with Pakistan. These youth are not merely fighting for independence from the Indian yoke of slavery but also for the protection of waters which flow from Kashmir to Pakistan,” he added. Saeed said Pakistan must not sacrifice the right of Kashmiris and their struggle at the altar of friendship with India.

He said given the strong resistance by Kashmiris to the Indian guns, Pakistan was expected to adopt a strong line and the policy of according to what Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz had told to a gathering in Muzaffarabad about the sacrifices of Kashmiris but so far it was only a rhetoric. The world must be told that Kashmir problem was purely humanitarian and not political as millions of Kashmiris had been forced to live under the bayonet of 800,000 Indian troops.

“India is making propaganda to portray Kashmir freedom movement a terrorist activity and New Delhi has specially taken heart to dub the Kashmiris terrorism after 9/11. This has also scared Pakistan rulers that their blatant support to Kashmiris will also bracket them with terrorism. This fear should be shrugged off and Pakistan must come open in support of Kasmiris without harbroring any expediencies. If Pakistan regards Kashmir as its part then no two opinions should be cherished on it,” he added.

Saeed invited attention to the Kashmiris who were raising standard of Pakistan receiving bullets on their bodies. He said the martyrdom of Burhan Wani had infused a new spirit among Kashmiris and today no other option than affiliation with Pakistan was their slogan.

“In this situation it is prime responsibility of Pakistan to rise to the occasion,” he added. He said Indian media was presenting a totally negative picture of Kashmir freedom struggle and it was up to Pakistani media to counter them and make the facts clear to the world. Saeed said Indian government in order to hide facts from the world, had blocked internet service, Pakistani TV channels and access to newspapers to Kashmiris.

The JuD chief said India had strategized to divert attention of the world from Kashmir by focusing on Mumbai attacks and action on him or his party.

He said the fact of the matter was India had sent dossiers of hundreds pages on the incident to Pakistan. These dossiers were deeply examined by the Lahore High Court and later by the Supreme Court through a full bench. He said both the benches in their respective decisions found no nexus of Hafiz Saeed and JuD with Mumbai attacks. He said the JuD separately sent the court verdicts to UN General Secretary Ban Ki-moon urging him to examine the court decision and the Indian allegations and if it had any doubt, try Saeed and his party anywhere in the world except India and they would prove their innocence. But the UN general secretary in reply just acknowledged receipt of their letter and took no action, he added.

Saeed again asked Pakistani rulers not to make friendship with India as their compulsion and shun budging to the Indian demand under pressure from the US. To a question, he said India and the US stood close to each other and the latter neither wanted solution to Kashmir issue nor prosperity of Pakistan. But Pakistan has to stand with Kasmiris and get them support of the world to help them get liberation from Indian occupation.