Muzaffarabad, Pak-occupied-Kashmir : The so-called Prime Minister of Pak Occupied Kashmir Raja Farooq Haider Khan on Tuesday spewed venom against India at a gathering attended by Syed Salahuddin, chief of Hizbul Mujahideen, presently hiding in Pakistan and heading the umbrella of militant outfits called United Jehad Council.
Farooq Haider Khan vowed to fight India for control of Kashmir in a speech to thousands of people assembled by a coalition of banned militant groups.
The provocative comments by Raja Farooq Haider Khan come amid unrest in Kashmir valley.
Khan's comments also come a day before India and Pakistan Foreign Ministers are scheduled to meet in Islamabad.
The talks are meant to reduce tension between the two countries, but Khan's comments could do the opposite. However, observers say that the PoK PM's comments are for consumption only in Kashmir, because Syed Salahuddin has already warned Pakistan not to engage in talks on Kashmir with India.
"Let me assure you that every home in Kashmir will become a bunker against India," Khan told the crowd in the capital of Pakistan-held Kashmir Muzaffarabad.
"Azad Kashmir will become a base for the independence movement," he said, referring to the Urdu name of Pakistan-controlled Kashmir.
The rally was organized by the United Jihad Council, a coalition of 12 anti-India militant groups. Many of the groups -- including Lashkar-e-Toiba, which India blames for the Mumbai attacks -- were started with the support of the Pakistani government in the 1980s and 1990s to fight India for control of Kashmir.
Pakistan banned the groups several years ago following pressure from the U.S. But many of them are allowed to operate openly, a fact that India says hampers improved relations between the two countries.
India has demanded that Pakistan crack down on Lashkar-e-Toiba and other Kashmiri militant groups, but many analysts believe the government continues to view them as an effective tool to put pressure on India.
The ability of thousands of members of banned militant groups to gather freely in Muzaffarabad on Tuesday was likely to reinforce that notion.
"Holy war (Jehad) is the only solution to our problem," said Syed Salahuddin, the head of Hizbul Mujahideen, which helped organize Tuesday's rally. "It is mandatory for every child in every street to wage war against India to bring it down to its knees."
Salahuddin rejected upcoming talks this week between the foreign ministers of Pakistan and India, saying they "are like sprinkling salt on the wounds of the Kashmiri people."
Pakistani Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit said he did not expect any breakthrough in the talks.
"We do not expect any dramatic results," he said in a Geo TV interview. "It would be a big success if a process of engagement is agreed."
Khan, the Pakistani Kashmir prime minister, said that he would like to see normal relations between the two countries but doubted Indian intentions. "India is not sincere," he said in a Dawn News TV interview.
