Afghan mujahideen 'owe Kashmir a debt'

Muzaffarabad, Pakistan-administered geographic area - fashioned in 1989, Hizb-ul-Mujahideen has been at the forefront of the fight against the Indian army in Indian-administered geographic area. LED by Syed Salahuddin, United Nations agency is presently resident within the Pakistani town of city, the cluster has disbursed various attacks against Indian forces since the armed campaign line of work for Kashmiri independence began in 1989.

Today, it's believed to be one among the campaign's solely organisations that has widespread membership from at intervals Indian-administered geographic area.

Al Jazeera spoke to Muhammad Abdullah - not his real name, as he spoke on condition of namelessness - a senior fighter United Nations agency has been with the movement for the past twenty three years. Abdullah, a 38-year-old veteran of the Afghan war against the Soviets and of over fifty operations within the Kupwara district of Indian-administered geographic area, says that his group's fighters still cross the road of management - the de-facto border between the Indian- and Pakistan- administered sides of this heatedly controversial territory - and can still do therefore, to fight what he calls "Indian military occupation".

In a wide-ranging interview with Al Jazeera, conducted in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-administered geographic area, he conjointly same that anti-US and anti-state fighters in Asian country owe Kashmiris "a debt", which he expects that it'll be paid "on [Kashmiris'] terms" when the planned America military withdrawal from Asian country in 2014.

Al Jazeera: are you able to tell America the character of your organisation's work here in Kashmir?

Muhammad Abdullah: "The objective of our work is that the Indian military occupation of geographic area be all over through jihad. Kashimiris disbursed non-violent resistance from 1947 to 1988. however nothing was achieved through that, and so, out of desperation, Kashmiri youth were forced to require up the gun, and to fight a jihad against the occupying Indian forces."

AJ: what's your role within the movement here in Muzaffarabad? does one co-ordinate operations? does one offercoaching for fighters at intervals Indian-administered Kashmir?

We take weapons from the Indian forces against whom we've launched operations. Those [local] youth area unittrained victimization those arms, and that they use them against the Indian army.

Muhammad Abdullah, Hizb-ul-Mujahideen

MA: "Azad Jammu [AJK, the name given to Pakistan-administered {kashmir|Kashmir|Cashmere|Jammu and {kashmir|Kashmir|Cashmere|Jammu and geographic area|geographical area unita|geographic area|geographical region|geographic region}|geographical area|geographic area|geographical region|geographic region}] may be a a {part of} Kashmir - each occupied Kashmir and AJK are part of one Kashmir. there's no distinction between them. we've a basic and right to come back here and to organize ourselves, to organise ourselves then, whenever we tend to get the chance, to travel into [Indian-administered territory] and perform armed operations against the Indian army.

"As so much as coaching cares, i believe that, before 1995, we would have liked to possess coaching camps in elements of Azad geographic area. however since then, significantly since 2000, Hizb-ul-Mujahideen has trained folks in several elements of occupied geographic area itself. Senior fighters area unit gift. and people youth that would like to require half within the armed jihad for freedom, we tend to train them at the native level.

"We take weapons from the Indian forces against whom we've launched operations. Those [local] youth area unit trained victimization those arms, and that they use them against the Indian army.

"That is however things area unit going forward. There are several ups and downs. we've moon-faced several difficulties. West Pakistan isn't ready to facilitate America militarily. and that we don't would like to become a burden on West Pakistan either.

"Therefore, through Kashmiri self-will and action, we tend to area unit standing on our own 2 feet, and area unit running this armed movement. And today, there area unit jihadis in each corner of Jammu and geographic area."

AJ: Clearly every operation should be planned meticulously. what's the method for that?

MA: "Hizb-ul-Mujahideen may be a well-organised movement, that has representatives at each tehsil [sub-district]-level. we've deputy military chiefs there, United Nations agency command the entire network. hectometer features a policy that once the general public is on the streets - once they area unit completing peaceful demonstrations against the Indian forces - then it's our policy that we tend to don't do any operation there...

"We perform our operations in far-flung areas, within the jungles and mountains, wherever the safety forces area unit deployed, on the point of the LoC. that's wherever our mujahedeen area unit operational."

AJ: we've seen a come by IED attacks as disbursed by hectometer, as compared to antecedent. Was this a acutely aware modification in policy?

MA: "As conditions modification, the Kashmiri mujahedeen have moon-faced resource constraints. therefore after we have one thing that we are able to do - whether or not it they're the techniques of IEDs, raids or ambushes - then we tend to decide supported the conditions and therefore the temporal arrangement.

"For IEDs, we tend to use unmanned varieties, similarly as Clay more anti-personnel mines and anti-tank mines. Six of my friends have lost their limbs attempting to extract the mines from the minefields on the LoC while not setting them off."

AJ: however does one cross the LoC to hold out operations?

MA: Things became a great deal tougher since they place up the fencing at the LoC. currently it's quite tough to cross the LoC for one person or cluster. however even then, thank God, we've found some ways that to urge across, that I cannot speak about*. therefore we tend to use those to cross - however this can be no longer happening fairly often.

"You will say that this border-crossing activity is 2 to 3 p.c of our operations. currently our real focus is on operational at intervals [Indian-administered] geographic area. we tend to acquire resources there, we tend to train folks there and that we get all of our arms from there - be they purloined or bought - similarly. this can be however things are since 2002."

*In a separate interview, Abdul Aziz Alvi, the AJK chief of the Jamaat-ud-Dawa organisation, that has been illegal within the us as a front for striving outfit Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, claimed that fighters crossed the LoC "with Indian soldiers' consent" on sure occasions, which on others they used associate degree device cost accounting Rs75 (about $0.70) to foil a classy Israeli fence closed-circuit television put in by Indian forces. The JuD and Lashkar-e-Tayyaba area unit thought-about to be closely allied to Hizb-ul-Mujahideen.

AJ: therefore your mode of operations and techniques at the instant appear to be centered on operations, coaching and enlisting to be disbursed from at intervals Indian-administered geographic area, to not involve cross-LoC operations, that became tough.

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MA: "Yes, [cross-LoC operations] area unit tough, and that we conjointly need that at intervals the Kashmiri nation there's a way of autonomy, that our movement doesn't seem to be controlled [by outside forces]. That this be a free movement, which folks fight of their own accord. we wish it to be a strictly Kashmiri movement - whether or not that's politically or with arms."

AJ: what's your response to the charge that Pakistani intelligence agencies like the repose Services Intelligence (ISI) use outfits like Hizb-ul-Mujahideen as proxies, or that they, at the terribly least, permit you to operate?

MA: "I say this with clarity: no-one controls the Kashmiri mujahedeen. They attack Indian forces whenever they need, where they need. they are doing not want permission from anyone, and neither do they elicit it.

"If they assert that somebody sitting in West Pakistan is running the mujahedeen, then this can be associate degree outright lie."