LAHORE, Oct 10: The attack on Afghanistan is targeted against the entire Muslim world, particularly Pakistan and its nuclear installations, former ISI chief Lt-Gen Hameed Gul (retired) said here on Wednesday.

Addressing members of the Lahore High Court Bar Association, he said the Sept 11 raids in the United States were a Zionist conspiracy aimed at fabricating a pretext for a long-prepared, all-out operation to invade and occupy a strategic Muslim territory to serve as a base for subjugating the Muslim world. The US establishment, dominated by Zionists, did not even wait for a meeting of the Organization of Islamic Conference to discuss the problem and try to find a solution.

Jihad has, therefore, become obligatory on all Muslims, wherever they are, Mr Gul told a responsive gathering of lawyers. When some participants inquired about their practical contribution to Jihad, LHCBA Secretary Rana Mshshood Ahmad Khan said the matter would come up before the general body on Thursday when it would take up a resolution condemning the US action.

The Quaid-i-Azam, the general said, regarded Afghanistan as a fraternal state. Pakistan never faced a threat from its western neighbour. The Durand Line has never served as an effective international border as members of the same tribes and fraternity inhabit both the sides. He wondered how the president of Pakistan could predict a short campaign when the attackers themselves were talking about a long drawn war.

In support of his conspiracy theory, the general said at least the second and third airliners that crashed into the WTC and the Pentagon could have been intercepted by US planes. The US establishment befooled the Americans and got a huge amount sanctioned for its war effort. Innocent civilians are being mercilessly killed in reprisal raids by a superpower which claims to be a champion of human rights. The open-ended operation is also aimed at checking China’s economic growth, he added.