Lashkar's 'water war' to spread anti-India message

This is the second time in three months that the Lashkar-e-Tayiba has issued a statement regarding the Pakistani water dispute with India. Around 15 days prior to the Pune blasts, LeT leaders, during a huge rally in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir, had spoken at length about this bilateral dispute and said India would continue to be attacked.

The Lashkar realises that it has been branded as a terrorist outfit, and gradually, the locals in Kashmir too are accepting that the outfit has nothing good in store for them.

The Lashkar had a lot of local support in the Valley in certain quarters. However, now with numerous incidents of meaningless acts on part of the Lashkar, that local base is being shaken up. Indian agencies say that a couple of months ago, the Lashkar, along with the Inter Services Intelligence, reviewed its strategy.

During this meeting, it was decided that they would have to regain the sympathy and support of the local public. The lack of support from the locals has made their battle against the Indian troops difficult, since they are unable to get the desired logistics.

Moreover, the Lashkar and the ISI are also trying to counter the strategy of Indian agencies, which have been doing everything possible to involve the locals in its battle to restore peace in the Valley.

The Lashkar has now been propagating that India has designs to obstruct the flow of rivers towards Pakistan. They have also been saying that India proposes to construct several dams on the Chenab and Indus rivers to stop water from flowing into Pakistan.

They have also been trying to convince the people of the Valley that they will be badly affected if India goes ahead with these projects.

Further, the Lashkar also says that India is trying to create problems by constructing dams in violation of the Indus Water Treaty of 1960, thanks to which the rivers in Pakistan have reached low levels.

Intercepts picked up by the Indian intelligence agencies suggest that the Lashkar is trying to raise social causes, so that it emerges as a 'saviour.'

They would concentrate more on social issues such as water and electricity -- to ensure local support.

However, the meeting also went on to decide that they would use aggression in case India did not stop all these projects. Intelligence Bureau sources say that the Lashkar has plans of destroying these dams if India does not stop work on it.