Mohammad Shehzad

India has claimed it at every turn, the jihadi press has boasted about it and the Americans have said it repeatedly. Now a former Lieutenant General of Pakistan Army, one of Pakistan's few "thinking generals", is saying much the same: cross-border infiltration into Indian-administered Kashmir is continuing, feverish denials of the government notwithstanding.

Speaking at an event organised by Daily Times in Lahore on February 21, Lt Gen Nishat Ahmed said chances of another war with India had grown because Islamabad was not keeping its word. "Cross-border infiltration is continuing. The government may not be actively supporting it but it is certainly looking the other way," he said, adding that men like Hafiz Saeed, chief of Jamaat ud-Daawa (formerly Lashkar-e-Taiba), needed to be roped in. "He has no business to go and attack the parliament in Srinagar."

Going on what Mr Saeed has to claim himself, cross-border infiltration is, indeed, continuing. A taped speech of his played on Kashmir Day, at the Jamia Mosque Ghousia, Rawalpindi, bears this out.

"Listen O Vajpayee!" the testosterone-ladled Mr Saeed says, "We are about to unleash a spate of suicide attacks. I have ordered my warriors to undertake this holy duty. God willing, these will cost you and your army dearly!" Mr Saeed dares the Indian prime minister to increase Indian army presence in Kashmir ("We will have more Indians to kill"), attack Pakistan ("What has to happen in ten years may as well happen now"), and to prove allegations of cross-border terrorism ("You cannot prove this in any court of justice"). The hawkish deputy prime minister of India is also targeted. "Advani. You ordered the genocide of Muslims, Christians and Sikhs. Your days are numbered!"

Even the president of Pakistan is not spared and asked to step aside. "Listen O Musharraf! We shall not submit to you or your government but only to Allah. We will not allow you to besmirch the holy duty of jihad and the holy warriors know how to deal with such rulers."

Yet another warning comes for the US ambassador who has criticised the Musharraf-led government over alleged infiltration into Indian-administered Kashmir. "The holiest soil on earth is that of Pakistan," claims Mr Saeed, "and we cannot tolerate the unholy presence of Nancy Powell on our holy land. Her presence keeps us away from Allah's blessings. Pakistan should cleanse itself from her unholy existence."

In the same taped speech, Mr Saeed says, "Allah has told us to make atom bombs. America is telling us not to. Who should we listen to O Muslims, Allah or America?" Mr Saeed continues to urge all Muslims to give of their assets and themselves to the cause of jihad against India. "Kashmir will not be solved by talks, not by American arbitration, not by its division but only by jihad, jihad, jihad!" He said jihad was once used to save the Christians and that the murder of Hindus is not only justified, it is nearly a holy duty. "The Hindus were terrorists yesterday, they are terrorists today and they will remain terrorists tomorrow. We are right in seeking revenge from these spawns of evil."

Such fiery sentiment may all be bluster, one analyst points out to TFT. "However, (Mr Saeed's) point about allegations of cross-border infiltration not been provable in a court of law, or justice as he called it for some symbolic reason perhaps, is interesting. He is either bluffing, simply making these statements to rile the public. Or he is actually pursuing action aware of how the law works and circumventing it."

Mr Saeed, a former engineering professor, is of keen mind. The mosque address, even in taped form, is not permitted under law (see Maintenance of Public Order law, Article 16) and sources in the government claim Mr Saeed had "promised" not to make any such statements following his release from house arrest late last year and would stay muzzled. Sources close to Mr Saeed say, however, that no laws are being broken: "He is entitled as a citizen of Pakistan to freedom of speech under Article 19 of the Constitution."

Article 19 states: "Every citizen shall have the right to freedom of speech and expression ... subject to any reasonable restrictions imposed by law in the interest of the glory of Islam or the integrity, security or defence of Pakistan or any part thereof, friendly relations with foreign States, public order, decency or morality, or in relation to contempt of court, [commission of] or incitement to an offence."

Copyright ©2002 Mohammad Shehzad and The Friday Times. About the author