LASHKAR-I-TOIBA ARE FREEDOM FIGHTERS: MUSHARRAF

London: Pakistani militant groups likes Laskar-e-Taiba are freedom fighters waging a campaign for the rights of the people of Kashmir, Pervez Musharraf said.Musharraf, the former Pakistani president, said in a weekend interview with New Delhi broadcaster NDTV that he felt LeT and its counterparts were fighting for a noble cause in parts of Kashmir.”From our point of view anyone who is fighting in Kashmir, your part of Kashmir, is a mujahed who’s fighting for the freedom, for the rights of the people of Kashmir,” he said.
LeT was linked to the deadly raids on Mumbai in November 2008 where more than 100 civilians were killed in a three-day siege.Musharraf brushed off the connection to Mumbai, instead blaming India for targeting civilians in the conflict over Kashmir.”Isn’t the Indian army also a terrorist then?” he asked. “I think we are going to enter into a discussion where you won’t prove anything, I also won’t prove anything.”
Indian and Pakistan have fought two wars over the disputed region of Kashmir. Protesters have stormed government troops for three consecutive summers calling for Kashmiri independence from India or a merger with Pakistan.Musharraf said, however, that he felt disputes over Kashmir were political.”We were very close to finalizing the Kashmir issue,” he said.