The decision to set up the committee was taken after a five-member delegation of Hurriyat conference met Sharif on Thursday and handed over a memorandum expressing serious reservations about the Washington Accord and also asked the Prime Minister to dissociate himself from the Accord, Hurriyat sources said here.

"We hope that you will reflect the sentiments of the Pakistani nation and dissociate from all false announcements to inject a new life to the Kashmir freedom movement," the memorandum said.

The seven-page memorandum by the Kashmiri leaders ridiculed the Washington accord which Sharif signed with US President Bill Clinton on July 4. Sharif, however, promised thedelegation that their "misunderstandings" would soon be cleared and also pledged that Pakistan would continue to provide, "political, diplomatic and moral support" to the Kashmiri people.

The memorandum said the joint statement's reference to the Shimla Agreement in abiding by the LoC and carry forward India-Pak dialogue as per the Lahore Declaration forced Sharif to take a decision about withdrawal of forces "which is contrary to the spirit of yom-e-takbeer (first anniversary of Pakistan's nuclear blasts)".

The Hurriyat leaders felt that "Pakistan Government should not obstruct the Mujahideen by citing economic restraints or war hostilities".

Sharif, during his address to the nation last Monday, had said that his decision to ask Pakistani forces withdraw was to prevent an all-out war between India and Pakistan and that both countries should work for the economic betterment of the people of the two countries.

Meanwhile, Sharif's younger brother and Chief Minister of Punjab provinceShahbaz Sharif has vowed that Kashmir will be liberated during the tenure of Pakistan Muslim League (PML) only.

"The sacrifices of Kashmiris will not go waste and Kashmir will be liberated during PML's Regime", Urdu daily Nawa-e-Waqt quoted Shabaz as saying on Thursday at a function in Multan.

Sharif's image building exercise

GILGIT (PAKISTAN): Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif began trying to rebuild his battered image on Friday, meeting troops at the border and promising aids to slain soldiers' family member.

Significantly, three of the four stops on his whirlwind agenda involved boosting troop morale. While there have been no signs of a rift between Sharif and the powerful military over his decision to ask Islamic militants to pull out of Indian Kashmir, he obviously is taking no chances.

Foreign Minister Sartaj Aziz and other top officials also accompanied Sharif.