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Pak minister's anti-militancy statement creates uproar

Various militant organisations in Pakistan have reacted adversely to the statement of Interior Minister Lt Gen (retd) Moeenuddin Haider that curbs should be imposed on fund raising to purchase weapons and impart commando training to wage jehad (holy war) against India.

The Mujahideen groups termed the government's ban on collection of funds as ''un-Islamic'' and demanded that the interior minister apologise for his statement.

They also urged the country's Chief Executive Gen Pervez Musharraf to remove the confusion created by the minister's statement.

The jehad groups as well as the Jammat Islami, which is also involved in operations in Kashmir, claimed that to collect funds and donations for jehad was the order of Allah and ''his order can't be banned.''

''Ban on collection of funds for jehad is same as ban on prayers and the people of Pakistan will not accept this. The Mujahideen best deserve the donations, banning which is an attempt to deprive the masses of the blessings of jehad.''

They alleged that the interior minister wanted to please the United States and other anti-Islamic forces through such a statement.

The Muthaida Jehad Council, an alliance of several jehadi organisations operating in Kashmir, also rejected the minister's statement.

In separtate statements, leaders of Hizbul Mujahideen, Harkatul Mujahideen, Harkat Jehad e-Islami, Al-omar Mujahideen , Muslim Janbaz Force and Lashkar-e-Tayiba, claimed that Pakistani youths were sacrificing their lives in Kashmir to get the valley ''liberated.''

Haider had said Tuesday that the government did not want confrontation with Jehadi organisations but they could not be permitted to collect donations to purchase weapons and impart commando training.

Talking to newspersons, Gen Haider said such activities created a negative impact of Pakistan abroad.

He said the government intended to bring an ordinance to curb such activities, which had nothing to do with the Pakistani culture.

The minister said, ''We will force them to remove banners and signboards posted around the country's mosques. Terrorism in the disguise of religion would be history now.''

He said there was no need of promoting ''fake jehadism'' in the world.

''In fact, this is not the case as we are a peace loving nation,'' he added.

The interior minister had recently stated that persons carrying and demonstrating banned arms would be shot dead.

UNI

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