From correspondents in Srinagar | December 17, 2008
THE Islamic militant group blamed for last month's attacks in Mumbai has vowed to continue its armed struggle against India's hold over a part of the Muslim-majority region of Kashmir.
A spokesman for Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) repeated the group's denial that it was behind the Mumbai carnage, as Indian officials allege.
"Our fight for Kashmir's freedom will continue. It is our only agenda," LeT spokesman Abdullah Ghaznavi said in a telephone call to AFP's correspondent in Srinagar, the main city in Indian Kashmir.
He accused the Indian government of linking the "Kashmir freedom struggle with terrorism, to give legitimacy to its occupation of our land".
"We want to reassure the international community that we are not in any way involved in the Mumbai attacks. We strongly condemn such attacks," he said, calling on the United Nations to conduct an "impartial investigation into the evidence that India claims to have".
"Lashkar has no links with al-Qaeda and Taliban. Our group is active in Kashmir to end India's illegal occupation of Kashmir," he said.
Last week the UN Security Council sanctions committee targeted four LeT members for an assets freeze and other sanctions.
Under pressure from India and the United States, Pakistan has also cracked down on the group and an Islamic charity regarded as a front organisation.
But Ghaznavi called on the UN to "review its decision, as our group has no links or relations with al-Qaeda and the Taliban".
Last month's attacks in Mumbai killed 172 people, including nine gunmen, and wounded nearly 300 others.
THE Islamic militant group blamed for last month's attacks in Mumbai has vowed to continue its armed struggle against India's hold over a part of the Muslim-majority region of Kashmir.
A spokesman for Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) repeated the group's denial that it was behind the Mumbai carnage, as Indian officials allege.
"Our fight for Kashmir's freedom will continue. It is our only agenda," LeT spokesman Abdullah Ghaznavi said in a telephone call to AFP's correspondent in Srinagar, the main city in Indian Kashmir.
He accused the Indian government of linking the "Kashmir freedom struggle with terrorism, to give legitimacy to its occupation of our land".
"We want to reassure the international community that we are not in any way involved in the Mumbai attacks. We strongly condemn such attacks," he said, calling on the United Nations to conduct an "impartial investigation into the evidence that India claims to have".
"Lashkar has no links with al-Qaeda and Taliban. Our group is active in Kashmir to end India's illegal occupation of Kashmir," he said.
Last week the UN Security Council sanctions committee targeted four LeT members for an assets freeze and other sanctions.
Under pressure from India and the United States, Pakistan has also cracked down on the group and an Islamic charity regarded as a front organisation.
But Ghaznavi called on the UN to "review its decision, as our group has no links or relations with al-Qaeda and the Taliban".
Last month's attacks in Mumbai killed 172 people, including nine gunmen, and wounded nearly 300 others.
Source: The Australian from Agence France-Presse
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