Lashkar-e-Toiba flays backdoor diplomacy

ISLAMABAD, JULY 3: A Pakistan-based militant outfit, which claims to have the largest number of cadres fighting in Kargil, has slammed the Nawaz Sharif Government’s "back channel diplomacy" with India and has threatened not to accept any pull-back decision under pressure. Lashkar-e-Toiba chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, who visited forward posts in Drass-Kargil to boost its cadres morale, asked Sharif not to succumb to any external pressure on the issue, a press release said.

Referring to reports about former foreign secretary Niaz Naik’s secret trip to New Delhi carrying some messages from Sharif and and the "back channel diplomacy" by the Government, he said the Lashkar was keeping a sharp vigil on all "American agents."

Hafiz Saeed, who was accompanied by the so-called commander-in-chief Zakiurrahman Lakhvi, said that under the present circumstances war was preferable as the outfit was in control of strategic Indian posts.He also assured militants fighting in Drass-Kargil region not to be worried aboutreports of "back channel diplomacy".

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"The Lashkar will not allow the Government to make any political surrender on the issue by creating public opinion against a political surrender," he said.

A Lashkar spokesman told PTI that it was sending constant reinforcements to forward posts from all over Pakistan. He claimed that the militants were "well entrenched" and denied that they had lost any occupied Indian posts.