January 25, 2003	Saturday	Ziqa’ad 21, 1423

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ISLAMABAD, Jan 24: Chief of Jamaat-i-Islami and parliamentary leader of Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA), Qazi Hussain Ahmed, has described US envoy Nancy Powell’s remarks as “blatantly aggressive” which made a clear departure from the diplomatic norms.

“This would only foment tensions instead of bringing normalcy to the region,” he added, while talking to this reporter by telephone.

He said she could not see the terrorism unleashed by India on hapless Kashmiris for the last fourteen years, during which 80,000 Kashmiris were slain and thousands others thrown into jails.

He regretted that Pakistan government’s response to the US diplomats’ statements was “toothless” which clearly showed that it was a continuation of Martial Law.

The rulers, he blamed, had accepted the American tutelage to keep themselves in power. “They think we have grown weak, which is not true,” he added.

Meanwhile, Jamaat’s deputy chief, Prof Khurshid has also slammed the statement made by Nancy Powell, saying it has exceeded all frontiers of diplomatic licence by repeating almost exactly what the Indian leadership has been saying about the so-called cross-border incursions in Kashmir.

He said the US should be conveyed the utter frustration of the Pakistani nation. “The message is: enough is enough. Pakistan is not a colony of the United States, it is a sovereign country with a population of 140 million Muslims, and that no individual has the right to compromise their freedom.”

Recalling the remarks of the information minister on the observations of the American ambassador in Pakistan, Prof Khurshid said it was “weak, apologetic.”

He said no one, Musharraf or anybody else, had the right to abdicate the principled stand of Pakistan and the feelings of the Pakistani people on any issue of national prestige.

The Pakistani people would not let anyone dump the sacrifices that were offered by the Kashmiris, he said.

The MMA leader stressed that even America accepts that Kashmir is a disputed area. The case is still pending with the UN Security Council and the Kashmiris’ struggle for their right to self-determination according to the UN Charter cannot be clubbed with any form of terrorism.

AJK MINISTER: Azad Kashmir minister for finance, revenue and rehabilitation, Shah Ghulam Qadir, on Friday said the remarks of United States Ambassador Nancy Powell regarding the alleged infiltration across the Line of Control were against the facts and made under Indian influence, our Staff Correspondent in Muzaffarabad adds.

“There are no infiltrations across the LoC. This is Indian propaganda to cover up its failure in crushing the indigenous freedom movement in the occupied territory, despite employing brute force,” said the minister, while talking to Dawn.

He said the Kashmiris were saddened by the remarks of the US envoy that seemed to have been made by her under the influence of Indian propaganda.

“Either the ambassador has been mislead or influenced by Indian propaganda or the interests of her country in the region have compelled her to ignore facts and support Indian allegations,” he said.

He emphasized that the US should accept the ground realities as well as its obligations, for being a signatory to the UN resolutions that called for a free, fair, and impartial plebiscite in Kashmir.

“The ground reality is that Kashmir is an internationally recognized dispute, whose settlement in accordance with the wishes of its people has perpetually been impeded by India through its military might,” he said.

The minister said that the history testified to the fact that the people of Kashmir had never accepted Indian subjugation and they had been fighting and offering sacrifices since 1947.

“The UN charter grants right to every citizen across the globe to take up arms against the occupation forces. And what is going on in held Kashmir since 1989 is under the same right,” he said.

He said being the only superpower of the world, the responsibilities of the US, in resolving conflicts that were threatening global peace, were much more than those of others.

“We hope the US will not show unjustified tilt towards a country which is involved in cold blooded killings of the Kashmiris, only because they are demanding implementation of the UN resolutions,” he said.