ELECTION 99
US EDITION
COLUMNISTS
DIARY
SPECIALS
INTERVIEWS
CAPITAL BUZZ
REDIFF POLL
DEAR REDIFF
THE STATES
YEH HAI INDIA!
ELECTIONS
ARCHIVES

Search Rediff

Prevent JKLF from crossing LoC, India tells Pakistan

Amberish K Deewanji in New Delhi

India today summoned the Pakistani Deputy High Commissioner, Akbar Zeb, and warned Pakistan against allowing any crossing of the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir. The separatist Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front, headquartered in Pakistan, has declared that on October 4, its cadres and supporters will cross the Line of Control from Pakistani Kashmir into Indian Kashmir.

The Ministry of External Affairs was told to convey to the Pakistani Government the latter's obligation for maintaining the inviolability and sanctity of the LoC.

The Pakistani deputy high commissioner was also informed that India expects Pakistan to prevent intended crossing of the LoC in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, and that Pakistan would be responsible for any consequences that may result from its failure to do so.

The JKLF is led by Amanullah Khan and seeks an independent Jammu and Kashmir, rather than a Kashmir as part of Pakistan, which some of the other more fundamentalist groups desire. It is Amanullah's stance for an independent J&K that has found him out of favour with Islamabad.

Incidentally, this is the second time that the JKLF has threatened to cross the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir.

At the height of militancy in the early 1990s, JKLF supporters had swarmed on the Pakistani side of the border, threatening to cross it.

India had then warned Islamabad that allowing the crossing could have serious repercussions and the Pakistani military had cracked down hard and prevented the crossing from taking place. Most of the JKLF supporters were arrested and sent back, thus defusing a tense situation.

Meanwhile, the MEA spokesperson denied a report that the government had refused to grant a visa to Dr Nigel Rodley to attend a symposium on torture in New Delhi.

A press report, quoting Justice Malimath of the National Human Rights Commission, had said that the government was unwilling to grant a visa to Rodley, who is the United Nation's special rapporteur on torture.

"The fact of the matter is that Dr Rodley had never applied for a visa to attend the symposium and news report is untrue," the spokesperson declared.

However, he refused to speculate on whether or not Rodley would be given a visa should he apply.

Tell us what you think of this report