Pakistani militant outfit Lashkar-e-Toiba has urged Islamabad not to accept Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's offer for talks, saying that such a step will deal a serious blow to their activities. Pakistan had made mistakes in the past by agreeing to hold talks with India, Lashkar Chief Hafeez Muhammed Saeed said adding that had Islamabad preferred Jehad (holy war) to talks, the situation on Sunday would have been totally different and there would not have been any Kashmir issue.

“It is ridiculous on the part of the government (Pakistan) to say that it is exercising maximum restraint along LoC,” he informed at an Iftar party in Lahore on Saturday night. Alleging that the government was changing its stance on the Kashmir issue to please the United States, he said that Islamabad should not succumb to foreign pressure on the question of Jehad only to get loans.

Saeed said for the US, that the Kashmir issue had little importance and the interest it was taking in resolving the problem was mainly motivated by its urge to contain Mujahideens. Apprehending that the foreign pressure could force Pakistan to accept the Line of Control (LoC) as an international border, he asked media to be watchful in this regard. Bureau Report