Mumbai attacks: Kashmir a source of anger for militant Muslims

Published on Thursday 27 November 2008 21:03

KASHMIR is the most obvious simmering dispute between Muslims and the government of India.

The Himalayan region, disputed by India and Pakistan, is frequently listed by jihadists when they talk about their armed struggle, its "occupation" by India proving for them the persecution of the Umma – or Muslim believers.

Pakistan offers political support for what it calls a freedom struggle in mostly Muslim Kashmir but denies supporting terrorism.

A militant holed up at the Jewish centre in Mumbai phoned an Indian TV channel yesterday to offer talks with the government for the release of hostages. He complained about abuses in Kashmir, over which India and Pakistan have fought two wars. "Ask the government to talk to us and we will release the hostages," he said, speaking in Urdu in what sounded like a Kashmiri accent.

"Are you aware how many people have been killed in Kashmir? Are you aware how your army has killed Muslims. Are you aware how many of them have been killed in Kashmir this week?"

However, one of the main groups that has carried out violence in Kashmir, Lashkar-e-Taiba, has denied responsibility for the attacks.

Political discontent has simmered in the Indian-controlled sector of Kashmir since partition in 1947, when Hari Singh, the Hindu maharajah of the Muslim-majority state, joined India.

India has accused Pakistan of a string of attacks, including the 2001 assault on the Indian parliament in Delhi by militants fighting Indian rule in Kashmir.

Ties have improved in recent years, and Pakistan's president, Asif Ali Zardari, said at the weekend that India posed no threat to Pakistan and called for the heavily militarised border to be opened for trade.