January 05, 2007	Friday	Zilhaj 14, 1427

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ISLAMABAD, Jan 4: Chief of Hezbul Mujahedeen Syed Salahuddin has said that Kashmiri guerillas will keep fighting India until it ends its rule over the disputed Himalayan territory.

Mr Salahuddin, one of India's most wanted men, said this in an interview with a private Pakistani television channel aired on Thursday.

He also said he was sure Pakistan would never hand him over to India.

He demanded that India recognise Kashmiris as a party to the dispute and settle it with ‘sincerity and seriousness’.

“Come what may, whatever the successes may be, until our right is acknowledged and a practical mechanism comes for giving us our right, our armed struggle will continue, God willing,” said the chief of Hezbul Mujahedeen, the largest rebel group fighting against the Indian occupation of Kashmir.

He said Indian security forces in Kashmir were involved in human rights violations such as raping women and abducting and killing children and Kashmiri intellectuals.

He warned that India should stop or militants would launch attacks inside other parts of India.

“We will hit any soft target in any part of India. But we do not want (to do this),” he said. “Our purpose is not to interfere with the people of India.”

“We are fighting against Indian imperialism that has enslaved us through its 750,000 army,” he said.

Asked whether he had ever had any concerns that Pakistan might, under pressure, hand him over to India, Mr Salahuddin said he “never for a moment” feared it.

“I am fully confident that the leadership of Pakistan and the people of Pakistan will not hand me over to India,” he said.

The interview is said to have been conducted in a ‘remote’ area in Azad Kashmir.—AP