ISLAMABAD, Oct 26: The Pakistani troops should be posted in the Gulf states and the US soldiers deployed there be withdrawn, former Azad Kashmir Prime Minister Barrister Sultan Mahmood said while talking to reporters at a local hotel here on Friday.

He said the resentment and concern among the Muslim countries were growing because of the presence of US troops in different Gulf countries.

“The deployment of Pakistani forces, especially in the backdrop of the Afghan crisis, would help a lot in serving the US interests, as the armed forces of many Gulf countries had been trained by the Pakistan army”, he said.

Barrister Sultan said October 27 would be observed as a black day, as on this day the Indian army entered Kashmir to unleash a reign of terror and to arrest the indigenous freedom struggle.

He appealed to every section of the society to support him in observing the black day. He said he would also speak to a big gathering in Rawalpindi on Saturday.

About the US pounding on Afghanistan, he said the bombings could not shatter the will of the Afghans. He also asked the US to reconsider its policy of imposing a long war on the Afghans as the decision had fuelled resentment among the people of the Islamic countries.

Barrister Sultan appreciated President Gen Pervez Musharraf for taking the decision of siding with the international coalition in the war against terrorism. He said this decision was also appreciated by different political parties, including the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP).

Speaking about his visit to different European countries, he said a realization had developed among these countries that nuclear race between India and Pakistan could not be halted until the core issue of Kashmir was resolved.

He said during his visit abroad, he met members of the European Parliament, House of Commons, House of Lords, intellectuals, Foreign Office personnel and representatives of the Labour party, including Robin Cook.

“The purpose of these extensive meetings was to remind the world not to forget about the Kashmir issue in the backdrop of the Afghan crisis”, he said.

The Indians had tried their best to equate the freedom movement in the occupied Kashmir with terrorism. They said the bomb explosion in the occupied Kashmir legislative assembly and the hijacking drama were attempts to malign the just freedom struggle.

“The Indians did so out of utter frustration and desperation as Pakistan has now become important, and all world leaders are visiting the country”, he said.

Barrister Sultan also expressed his apprehensions about skirmishes on the border, and said this might result in escalation of full-scale war, as the Indians intended to take advantage of the present Afghan situation.