By Amit Baruah
ISLAMABAD, FEB. 5. The Lashkar-e-Taiba chief, Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, today said he was `very happy' that the Pakistani Chief Executive, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, had declared that `jehad was not terrorism,' but warned the General not to interfere with Islamic madrassas where `jehad' and not terrorism was taught.
He said Gen. Musharraf was the first Pakistani ruler to have made such a distinction between `jehad and terrorism', a point that was made before him by Mr. Hamid Mir, Editor of the Urdu daily, Ausaf.
Both Saeed and the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen chief, Fazlur Rehman Khalil, made vicious anti-India and anti-U.S. speeches during a `jehadi rally' organised by the Lashkar at the Aabpara Chowk in the heart of Islamabad to express solidarity with the `Kashmiri people'.
Saeed also declared that the Pakistani mujahideen groups operating in Kashmir would not tolerate any `ban' on their activities as demanded by the U.S. in return for a visit by the American President, Mr. Bill Clinton.
``Clinton, you are welcome to visit without conditions, but don't come, you will not be welcome if you force these conditions on Pakistan,'' the Lashkar chief told a gathering of a few thousand supporters.
In his speech, Fazlur Rehman Khalil said that the U.S. and other Western countries had labelled them as `terrorists' for fighting a `jehad' in Kashmir. He wondered what their reaction would be if a `global jehad' was launched. ``You call us terrorists when we fight for our own Muslims (Kashmiris being Pakistanis for Khalil),'' he remarked.
Like Saeed, Khalil stated that the CTBT was not a political issue, but a religious one. ``Not adhering to the CTBT is Allah's order. Nuclear power is our shariat. If the U.S. asks us to sign the CTBT, it is interference in our religious affairs,'' he maintained.
In a clear warning to the Musharraf Government, Khalil stated that the mujahideen would not tolerate any ``sabotage'' of Pakistan's nuclear capability. If this were to happen, then the mujahideen would ``sabotage'' the Government, Khalil maintained.
Referring to American concerns, Hafiz Saeed said U.S. diplomats behaved like ``viceroys'' in Pakistan. ``They want Governments to pander to their every whim,'' he said, lampooning the diplomats.
He challenged the U.S. to take its case against terrorism relating to Islamic outfits to any court in the world. ``We will prove that you (the U.S.) are terrorists. We are prepared to face you in any court of law,'' the Lashkar chief said. Saeed wanted to know which ``court of law'' had banned the Harkat-ul- Mujahideen. ``Is this justice,'' he asked.
He said that the mujahideen did not expect anything from the U.S. and maintained that Mr. Clinton was visiting India despite its ``State terrorism'' in Kashmir.
He said that U.S. had let Pakistan down in 1971; an action that transformed East Pakistan into Bangladesh. ``No American decisions will be acceptable. All decisions will be taken by jehad,'' he maintained.
Saeed urged the Pakistani leadership to conduct one more, powerful nuclear test which would bring the U.S. and the rest of the world to its senses. ``Our problems will be solved by this test,'' he claimed.
Describing Kargil as the `first round' in the jehad against India, Saeed said the post-Kargil ``fidayeen attacks'' on Indian military camps constituted the `second round' of `jehadi attacks' by the Lashkar mujahideen. ``Very soon, we will be starting the third round,'' he warned.
Another Lashkar functionary, Abdul Rehman Makki, claimed that the Lashkar had a ``network'' in Hyderabad which would become active in the next six months. ``They will be making a declaration of separation,'' Makki claimed.
Lashkar volunteers distributed leaflets at the rally asking households to send a `brother or son' for the cause of `jehad'. They also gave addresses in Islamabad and Rawalpindi where `military training' to participate in jehad could be acquired.
Formerly the Harkat-ul-Ansar, which was designated a foreign terrorist organisation in October 1997. HUM is an Islamic militant group based in Pakistan that operates primarily in Kashmir. Leader Fazlur Rehman Khalil has been linked to bin Laden and signed his fatwa in February 1998 calling for attacks on US and Western interests. Operates terrorist training camps in Eastern Afghanistan and suffered casualties in the US missile strikes on Bin Laden-associated training camps in Khowst in August 1998. Fazlur Rehman Khalil subsequently said that HUM would take revenge on the United States.