"We could also make lives of one billion people of India a hell"

Nazir Masoodi

Srinagar, November 23: Chinks have surfaced within the Hizbul Mujahideen armour. The outfit on Saturday said it will take action against its commander Asad Yazdani and others who convened a press conference recently wherein they said that Hizbul would go political and foreign militants should remain subservient to local leadership.

The outfit, instead, hardened its stand on Kashmir and its operational chief commander Saiful Islam tightened his grip on the Hizbul affairs. His predecessor Abdul Majid Dar and other ``moderates'' have been expelled and asked to report to Base Camp in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK). In an interview to The Indian Express Islam said Hizbul remains committed to armed struggle in the Valley.

``They violated organisational norms. They had no locus standi to convene a press conference and make such utterances. This goes completely against the Hizbul policy. We are investigating what these people are up to. Why are they insisting on ceasefire, the exercise that has earlier yielded no fruit? Action will be taken against them,'' Saiful Islam said over phone.

Islam has recently replaced Dar who had announced a three-month long ceasefire on July 24, 2000. The period, however, was reduced to two weeks by PoK-based Hizbul supremo Syed Salahudin citing ``India's intransigence" as the reason.

Dar, Yazdani and their other colleagues have been relieved from their positions and asked to report to base camp (training camps in PoK). Spokesman Salim Hashmi said the PoK-based command council's meeting, presided over by Salahudin, on Saturday said, "These people are neither authourised nor allowed to make a policy statement on behalf of the Hizbul Mujahideen.''

The outfit also issued a piece of "advice" for mediapersons: "Publish the statements of only those who are holding positions in present hierarchy and desist from creating confusions regarding the Hzibul policies.''

Islam said the field commanders of Hizbul were changed three months ago and he took over as chief commander operations a month ago. He said they did not publicise the names of new commanders owing to security risk, however, Yazdani's statement has "forced us to made these names public''.

"Yazdani was appointed as spokesman after the martyrdom of Commander Masood," Islam said.

Asked whether the latest developments indicate a spilt in Hizbul ranks, Islam said the number of these people is only four. "They are only those persons who were relieved in recent changes in the outfit."

To a question Islam said Hizbul had already made it clear that the outfit is already working on political, diplomatic and military fronts and there was no need to form another political platform. He categorically denied that Hzibul is going to announce ceasefire unless India accepted Kashmir as a disputed issue and agreed to implement UN resolutions.

"Hizbul policy is that guns will not be silenced till the final resolution of Kashmir (issue). Demands of trilateral talks are only to pave way for the implementation of the UN resolutions,'' he said adding that India was never sincere to resolve the issue through negotiations. "If India was sincere to resolve the issue, Agra summit was the best opportunity. Entire world knows that the Agra summit failed because of India's rigidity,'' he said.

He instead charged New Delhi of ``state terrorism'' and alleged that the forces were killing innocent people. ``We could also make the lives of one billion people of India a hell as India has made ours. We can also kill the families of Indian soldiers and Task Force personnel as they are killing the family members of our Mujahideen.

Justifying the presence of foreign mercenaries, Islam said, "Those who have come from other part of Kashmir (PoK) and from the families of those who had migrated to various parts of Pakistan cannot be declared as foreigners.''

Islam said they are fighting for a just cause and the ongoing movement cannot be dubbed as terrorism.