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More violence likely in J&K: Malik

Shyam Bhatia in London

Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front chief Yasin Mailk says the failure of the Agra summit was predictable and warns that violence is likely to escalate in Kashmir.

Malik, who remained in London for the duration of the summit, is heading back to India this weekend following prolonged medical treatment in the US.

In his first comments to the media since the summit ended in a deadlock, Malik told rediff.com, "This summit was nothing. Both the countries had nothing to offer to each other."

"Such big summits should be held only when an announcement has to be made about solving some problem. But the political leaders in the subcontinent have a penchant for holding such high-profile summits. Although there is nothing to be achieved, the world's press is invited to cover the meetings."

Asked what was likely to happen in Kashmir, Malik replied, "Violence will escalate from both the sides. That's how it seems to me."

Meanwhile, a UK-born Pakistani, who has returned to Manchester after spending seven years in Indian jails, has denied that he ever expressed a desire to join militant groups fighting the Indian security forces in Kashmir.

Manchester-born Chaudhary Aurangzeb was only 18 when he was apprehended by the Indian authorities after crossing the Line of Control.

It emerged that he had lived from the age of eight in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir with his divorced father and other relatives. But Aurangzeb denied that he had joined a militant group to participate in terrorist activities across the LoC.

Before he was released last week after strenuous efforts on his behalf by the British Foreign Office and Pakistan-born Lord Nazir Ahmed, Aurangzeb told a local newspaper from Manchester: "I was told that mothers and sisters were being raped by the Indians. It was my duty to go and fight them."

But after arriving back in England he told rediff.com that he wished to lead a quiet life, find a job and settle down. "I have no connections with any militant groups.

I want to express my gratitude to those who helped me, like the foreign office, Lord Ahmed and Fair Trials Abroad."

Asked for his reactions to the Agra summit, Aurangzeb said, "We all want the Kashmir issue to be discussed so that casualties stop rising."

"When I was in jail, my hope was that both Musharraf and Vajpayee would find a solution to this problem. Even if Kashmir could not be solved, then at least they could have agreed on some other issues."

Indo-Pak Summit 2001: The Complete Coverage

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