Hizbul likely to face split -- Pak daily

Hizbul likely to face split -- Pak daily
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

New Delhi, Aug 20: The Hizbul Mujahideen is likely to face a split following withdrawal of the ceasefire in Jammu and Kashmir, reports a Pakistani paper.

Pakistani weekly The Friday Times, in its latest issue said "now that Hizbul Mujahideen has decided to go its own way under (self-styled) Commander Majeed Dar, further splits are being feared on both sides."

In an article ``The Splitting of Jehad in Pakistan'', the paper said "Dar was able to announce the ceasefire after breaking a number of commanders belonging to the clique of Syed Salahudin, which forced the latter to accept the ceasefire on the pain of being without any following in the outfit."

The weekly said this has led to the speculation in Pakistan that the split among militants is being engineered by the ISI because the Musharraf Government wished to bring India under international pressure.

It said that after the announcement of the ceasefire a split had already taken place in the Hizbul Mujahideen when self-styled Commander Masood of "Pir Panjal Regiment" declared that he would not abide by the ceasefire and continue to indulge in militant activities.

The weekly said the splits were not surprising and militant outfits operating in Kashmir have seen a number of splits since 1996.

Meanwhile in Karachi, Pakistani authorities have stopped Jaish-E-Mohammad leader Masood Azhar -- released from an Indian prison last year as part of a deal to end Indian Airline hijacking -- from entering Sindh yesterday, they said.

He was on his way to address an Islamist rally at Sukkur, north of Karachi.

"His entry to Sindh has been banned for three months under preventative laws," Home Secretary Brigadier Mukhtar Ahmed told AFP.

Sindh police also said they had refused permission to the country's main fundamentalist party, the Jamaat-E-Islam (JI), to hold a "jihad (holy war) rally" here today.

"We have allowed them permission to hold a public meeting but the rallies have been banned in the country," said a senior police officer.

Islamist rallies were banned in December but the rule has been haphazardly enforced until now.

Witnesses said Azhar was stopped by the police and paramilitary forces as he tried to enter Sindh from the Punjab provincial border in a motorcade.

"Azhar, accompanied by his armed guards, was told that the provincial government has barred his entry to Sindh," a police officer said, adding that Azhar did not resist.

Militants kill 4 in Udhampur
Jammu: Militants killed four members of a minority community and injured a woman by opening indiscriminate fire in Ind village in Udhampur district last night, police said today. Quoting reports from Udhampur, a police spokesman said that unspecified number of armed militants descended on Ind village and opened fire. The deceased have been identified as Mir Chand, Madan Lal, Naseeb and Monia, he said. The wife of Mir Chand, Krishna Devi, was seriously injured, he said, adding she has been admitted in nearby medical centre.

This is the second militant attack on the members of the minority community in Jammu division during the last three days.