Lahore, Apr 18 (PTI): Amid growing tensions in Jammu and Kashmir, Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed has pledged full support to the Kashmiris in their struggle for freedom and said he backed 'jihad' in the troubled state in concert with Pakistani government and the army.
He also warned that the movement for attaining freedom will intensify in the coming days, forcing India to give up Kashmir.
"Jihad is the duty of an Islamic government...there is a government in Pakistan and it has always taken the stand that it is the right of Kashmiris to attain freedom.
"I say what our army will do to secure the right of the Kashmiris is jihad....We extend help to Kashmiris alongside the the Pakistani government....we call this jihad," he said in a TV interview.
Addressing a rally in Faislabad district of Punjab yesterday, Saeed protested the violence in the Kashmir Valley over the past few days following the killing of two youths by the army in Tral in Pulwama district.
"I have firm belief that more the Indian government suppresses the voice of Kashmiris, the more there will be reaction. The freedom movement in (Indian administered) Kashmir will further intensify in coming days and eventually India will have to give freedom to Kashmiris," he asserted.
"If the Indian government resorts to violence to suppress the voice of Kashmiris we will also retaliate in a strong manner," Saeed said, continuing his anti-India rhetoric.
The Lashkar-e-Taiba founder asked the Pakistani government to help the "oppressed" Kashmiri Muslims.
"It is not very heartening that Pakistan is silent on the Indian atrocities in Kashmir. The Nawaz Sharif government should at least draw the attention of the world towards it. I want the government to fully support the Kashmiri cause and stand shoulder to shoulder with Kashmiris in their struggle to secure freedom from India," he said.
Asserting that the freedom for Kashmiris could be attained only through Jihad, Saeed said he will raise his voice for them across Pakistan by holding rallies.
Violence in Srinagar, youth killed in firing
Srinagar, Apr 18 (PTI): A young man was killed and two others injured in firing by the CRPF today during protests in Budgam district of Jammu and Kashmir where a strike has been called by the hardline Hurriyat faction against the killing of two youths in Tral earlier this week.
Authorities have placed several separatist leaders including moderate Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq under "preventive" house arrest.
Three persons were injured when CRPF personnel opened fire to break up a demonstration at Narbal in central Kashmir's Budgam district. The injured were rushed to a hospital here where one of them identified as Suhail Ahmed Sofi succumbed to injuries.
The other youths are undergoing treatment, police said without elaborating on their condition.
A police spokesman said a preliminary inquiry into the incident indicated that the security forces had violated the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) during the incident. The exact nature of the violation of SoPs was not yet known.
"We regret the unfortunate incident and extend our sympathies to the bereaved family," the spokesman said.
A case under various sections of the RPC, including 302 (murder), has been registered at Magam police station.
Mirwaiz and some other separatist leaders were placed under house arrest this morning following fresh protests in some parts of the Valley over Tral killings. Two youths were killed at Tral in south Kashmir's Pulwama district in an army operation on Monday. While the army said they were militants, locals alleged the youths were shot dead in a fake encounter.
Authorities described the detention of separatists leaders as a "preventive measure" for maintaining law and order. The leader of the hardline Hurriyat Faction Syed Ali Shah Geelani is already under house arrest since Thursday night.
Meanwhile, the strike called by the hardline Hurriyat faction has evoked mixed response in the Valley which witnessed sporadic clashes between protesters and security forces. Tyres were burnt at some places to block traffic.
Shops, business establishments, educational institutions and petrol pumps were shut in and around Lal Chowk city centre in Srinagar, but those in the civil lines area and other major towns of the Valley were mostly open, officials said.
Sources said while public transport was sparse, private vehicles, cabs and auto-rickshaws plied normally.
Geelani had given the call for a strike against the Tral killings as also to protest against "unjustified and inhuman" arrests of Hurriyat leaders including Masarat Alam.