KARACHI, OCTOBER 28: Representatives of jihadi forces operating in Kashmir dropped a bombshell this week when they told journalists that they had indigenously designed and produced an anti-aircraft missile to shoot down Indian planes and helicopters. The missile, understood to be a Surface to Air Missile(SAM), would be ``tested shortly'', and the ``results would be evident for all to see'', they said.This information revealed by Hizb-ul Mujahideen (HM) leader Shakil-ur Rehman in Lahore, is yet to be confirmed by independent sources but has alreadyalarmed many on both sides of the Line of Control.In 1997, a similar scare that the Mujahideen fighting in Kashmir was beinggiven access to the US-made Stinger missiles had made Indian Prime MinisterI K Gujral call up Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and extract an assurance from him that such missiles would not be introduced in the conflict.Gujral told Sharif that any attempt by the fighters to down Indian aircraftcould add a dangerous dimension to the conflict. Some analysts in Pakistanbelieve that the missiles are in fact Stingers, many of which remainunaccounted for despite American attempts to buy them back after the end ofthe Afghan war.The Stingers are the secret weapon that won the Americans the Afghan warafter they were used effectively against Soviet helicopter gunships by theMuslim militants in their fight against the Soviets.Fearing that the Stingers would fall into the hands of jihadis, the US started to buy back the missiles from the arms bazaars of Afghanistan and Pakistan where they were freely available.A report in a local Lahore weekly suggests that the introduction of SAM'sby militant organisations could lead to further instability in Kashmir.Meanwhile, the HM has once again been accepted into the arms of the umbrella network of groups working in Kashmir - the Muttahida Jihad Council - after the HM refused to open negotiations with the Indian government without an international guarantor. The HM's membership had been suspended in July this year when it had made an unilateral announcement of a ceasefire in Kashmir and had initiated peace talks with the Indian government.
