NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said Al Qaeda will struggle to recruit members in India and he praised Indian Muslims for their commitment to fight for the country.

Al Qaeda announced the formation of its first wing dedicated to waging jihad in South Asia earlier this month. A few days later it claimed responsibility for attempting to hijack a Pakistani naval ship.

Mr Modi, a Hindu nationalist, said Indian Muslims were patriotic and would not betray their nation, which has a long history of sectarian strife.

“Indian Muslims will live for India, they will die for India, they will not want anything bad for India,” Mr Modi told CNN, which aired excerpts of the pre-recorded interview on Friday.

“If anyone thinks Indian Muslims will dance to their tune, they are delusional.”

Al Qaeda said in a statement that it aimed to end the suffering of Muslims in places such as India-held Kashmir.

The Indian prime minister has long been a hate figure for Islamist groups because of religious riots in 2002 when he was chief minister of Gujarat state. More than 1,000 people, mainly Muslims, died in the violence.

Published in Dawn, September 20th , 2014