LAHORE, Nov 6: Former AJK president Sardar Abdul Qayyum Khan on Tuesday supported the Afghan policy being pursued by the government, saying the country’s integrity would have been at stake if any other policy had been adopted.

Speaking at the Lahore High Court Bar, he said Pakistan’s safety should be given foremost importance and for every single inch of Pakistan, several Kabuls could be sacrificed.

Because of his utterances against the Taliban and Jihadi organizations, several lawyers dubbed Sardar Qayyum as an American agent and also heckled him. Some of them also asked him taunting questions before storming out of the house in anger. Many of the participants raised slogans against the US.

Referring to the curbs on Jihadi organizations, the former AJK president said they alone were responsible for action against them. He said these organizations were talking of hoisting flag on India’s Red Fort and conquering the US. He said because of their differences and allegations regarding their involvement in terrorist activities, the Kashmir cause had been relegated into the background.

The AJK leader dispelled the impression that the freedom movement in held Kashmir had slowed down. In fact, he said, the presence of some 800,000 Indian troops in the Valley was sufficient to belie this assertion. He said the Kargil episode had intensified the freedom movement, while President Musharraf’s Agra visit had brought the matter into the limelight.

Sardar Qayyum said at present it was premature to say anything about the final solution to the problem. He said what was relevant at this juncture was the modalities of the solution.

Resumption of talks between the two countries, de-escalation of tensions, withdrawal of troops and trade relations could be the initial steps, he said.

He said there was a time when Indian Prime Minister Vajpayee had stubbornly refused to hold talks with Pakistan. But, he said, the same prime minister had to extend an invitation to President Musharraf and now he was finding it difficult to satisfy his people.

He said he believed that relations between the two countries could not normalize till the solution of the Kashmir problem.