Search the Internet          Tips

Militant leaders in Pak to announce ceasefire: Report

Correspondent in New Delhi

The All Parties Hurriyat Conference and the Mujahideen leaders based in Pakistan are likely to declare a unilateral ceasefire soon, says a report in the Pakistan Observer.

"This dramatic and stunning ceasefire will change the course of history in the subcontinent once for all," claims Zahid Malik, the editor-in-chief of the Observer in a bylined news analysis.

While militant leaders in the valley declined comment on the subject, Malik claims: "My interaction with some of the APHC leaders and Mujahideen commanders during the last seven days led me to say, rather categorically, that such an apparently unexpected ceasefire is not far off."

"We are aware that it has now become almost impossible for Pakistan to resist the world pressure and therefore we would like to postpone our jihad against the Indian occupation army in Indian held Kashmir for some other opportune and favourable time," Malik quotes a Mujahid commander as saying.

"We are grateful to Pakistan for the moral and diplomatic support it has extended to us," the commander is further quoted as saying.

Without elaborating, Malik says two other views expressed by leaders of separate jihadi outfits were, one: "We are under tremendous pressure" and two: "We have been betrayed."

"In this perspective though the ceasefire likely to be announced in this very month by the leadership of various Mujahideen outfits will certainly change the course of events in the region, yet will it be a permanent and dependable arrangement?" asks Malik.

"The answer is a big no. There will be some temporary gains, of course. Pakistan will heave a sigh of relief, as world pressure will instantly shift to New Delhi. The ceasefire announcement will push the ball to Atal Bihari Vajpayee's court. But will there be permanent peace in the subcontinent? It cannot be and it will not be if there is no solution to the Kashmir problem," he concludes.

ALSO READ:
Column: The travails of Pervez Musharraf

Terrorism Strikes in Jammu: The complete coverage

Back to top

Tell us what you think of this report