Kashmiri militants vow Ramadan attacks in India
REUTERS

Islamabad, Nov 21: A hard-line Kashmiri group on Tuesday vowed to step up attacks in the Indian-controlled side of Kashmir during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, mocking a ceasefire offer by New Delhi.

Bakhat Zamin, Chief of the Al-Bader Kashmiri group, toldReuters Television he was launching a new offensive against the Indian military because the ceasefire offer was merely a ploy to undermine the unity of militant groups.

India on Sunday offered a ceasefire in its restive Jammuand Kashmir state to coincide with the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which begins at the end of November.

But Kashmiri militants have rejected the ceasefire offer,terming it "mere eye-wash" to win international sympathy.

"What is Ramadan to them. They (India) are a seculargovernment, what difference does it make to them that it is Ramadan or not," Zamin said, adding that Islam did not ban fighting during the fasting month.

Al Badar, set up in 1979 in Afghanistan to fight Sovietoccupation forces, turned to the Kashmir dispute in 1988. It says more than 650 of its fighters have been killed in separatist violence in Kashmir in the last 11 years.

The scenic Himalayan region of Kashmir has been the triggerfor two of three wars between India and Pakistan since they gained independence from Britain in 1947.

India accuses Pakistan of arming and supporting a dozen ormore guerrilla groups active in its side of Kashmir. Pakistan denies the charge.

Zamin, hailing from a remote village in Pakistan's NorthWest Frontier Province, said the ceasefire offer by India reflected New Delhi's growing weakness in the face of a united struggle by the mujahideen (holy warriors).

India controls about 45 percent of the disputed Kashmirregion. Pakistan holds just over a third and China the remainder of the territory.

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