LAHORE, April 24: MMA President Qazi Husain Ahmad has called Gen Musharraf’s formula of division of Kashmir a U-turn from Islamabad’s principled stand on the dispute and a conspiracy to weaken Kashmiris’ freedom struggle. In a strong-worded statement on Sunday, the MMA leader said the Kashmiris had already rejected the division plans put forward by the army dictator and had pledged to continue their movement for getting their right to self-determination.

“The uproar caused by unilateral confidence building measures by Pakistan cannot camouflage Indian forces’ atrocities on innocent Kashmiris,” he said, adding that 80,000 Kashmiris had not laid their lives just to open communication routes between the two South Asian neighbours and give the Line of Control the status of a permanent international border.

The Qazi regretted that airing of Kashmir’s division plan by the president at the international forums would deprive Islamabad of the global support for its principled stand on the Kashmir issue.

He said New Delhi did not pull out its troops from the Held Valley even as a token CBM and Indian troops were annihilating innocent Kashmiris without any let.

In this context, he said, Gen Musharraf’s proposal of dividing Kashmir into seven zones was nothing but a sheer contempt of Kashmiri martyrs.

India, he added, was all set to ditch Pakistan on the Baglihar dam issue while the rulers in Islamabad were obsessed with unilateral peace and friendship plans.

The MMA leader pledged that Kashmiris would not be left alone in their freedom movement and a conference on the Hatian-Srinagar Road on May 2 would be a loud and clear message for Indians and Kashmiris across the LoC that resumption of communication links could not undermine the freedom struggle.