Kashmiri Muslim leader denies presence of Taliban in India-controlled Kashmir

SRINAGAR, India-controlled Kashmir, April 6


Muslim leader and head of Hurriyat Conference , Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Monday denied Indian media's reports that Taliban militants had sneaked into in India-controlled Kashmir.


The aged leader told a Srinagar based newspaper that neither Al-Qaida nor Taliban were present in the region.


"This is propaganda unleashed by the Indian agencies because they have become afraid of the people's movements in the wake of the killing of innocent civilians in the region which has brought the government and its armed forces on the back foot and led to forceful demands for the removal of their camps," said Geelani.

Indian Home Ministry officials in New Delhi Sunday said Indian army has launched a massive search operation in India-controlled Kashmir's Kupwara district near the Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan after intelligence agencies intercepted message suggesting Taliban militants could have infiltrated into the area.
Media reports Sunday quoted the intelligence agencies as saying well-trained militants of Hizbul Mujahideen and Pakistan based militant group Lashker-e-Toiba (LeT) have sneaked into the region from Pakistan with the aim to disrupt Indian general elections.


Launching a scathing attack on New Delhi, Geelani said India does not want to withdraw its forces from region despite the repeated demands even from pro-India parties.
He termed the presence of Taliban in the region as the "false specter" raised by Indian intelligence agencies to defame struggle in Kashmir.
Indian Home Ministry officials in New Delhi Sunday said Indian army has launched a massive search operation in India-controlled Kashmir's Kupwara district near the Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan after intelligence agencies intercepted message suggesting Taliban militants could have infiltrated into the area.
Media reports Sunday quoted the intelligence agencies as saying well-trained militants of Hizbul Mujahideen and Pakistan based militant group Lashker-e-Toiba (LeT) have sneaked into the region from Pakistan with the aim to disrupt Indian general elections.