LAHORE, Dec 24: The Lashkar-i-Taiba, recently declared a terrorist organization by the United States, has shifted its offices from Pakistan to Jammu and Kashmir, rededicating itself to the liberation of Kashmir from Indian occupation.

It will now be headed by Maulana Abdul Wahid of Poonchh, who replaces Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, chairman of the Jamaat al-Dawa, the new name for the Markaz al-Dawa wal-Irshad. The Jamaat will carry out a political, religious and reform programme in Pakistan.

Maulana Wahid will lead a 13-member general council.

The changes were announced by Hafiz Saeed at a news conference here on Monday. These, he said, were meant to counter Indian propaganda against Pakistan. The Jamaat, he said, would also discharge its obligations with respect to the defence of the country.

He dismissed the suggestion that the decisions had been taken under pressure from the government or a foreign country. The Lashkar, he said, would continue to fight India.

Rejecting the suggestion that the Lashkar activities could lead to hardships for the people of Pakistan, he said the Mujahideen had always defended Pakistan. No difficulty faced by Pakistan, he said, could be attributed to the Mujahideen. Those who believed otherwise, he said, were under the influence of western propaganda.

Hafiz Saeed said India was working for Akhand Bharat (so- called unified India including Bangladesh and Pakistan). He claimed that the Mujahideen were the only obstacle to such designs.

He said it had been as a result of the pressure mounted by the Mujahideen that the River Chenab had been proposed as international border.