SRINAGAR, MAY 12 (KPI): Chairman All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) Syed Ali Gilani Tuesday said the Indian nuclear tests would have no effects on the Kashmir liberation struggle, but will further ruin the lives of its 70 per cent poor population.

Talking to KPI on telephone he said the nuclear tests reflect Indian designs to continue its illegal occupation of Kashmir and massacre of innocent Kashmiris. "But we have pledged to carry on the liberation drive, as our motto is justified."

Gilani said Indian explosions had no importance before the unflinching resolution of the gallant Kashmiris, who stood firm against all kinds of Indian brutalities. He urged upon Indian neighbours Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka to take appropriate measures for their security.-end

Washington, D.C. - May 12, 1998. "India has sharply increased the nuclear stakes in South Asia and brought the entire region closer to a perilous situation," said Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai, Executive Director of the Washington-based Kashmiri American Council (KAC).

Dr. Fai said that the latest Indian nuclear tests executed in blatant insensitivity to the world community only seem to confirm former CIA chief Robert Gates' warning that India and Pakistan are at the brink of nuclear confrontation. The Executive Director said that the race of weapons of mass destruction in the area that was launched with India's first nuclear test in 1974 is pinned on a single issue, Kashmir that is bone of contention between the two South Asian neighbors.

The Executive Director said that it was not enough to persuade Pakistan to refrain from carrying out any nuclear tests. He added that it is also crucial to convince both India and Pakistan to settle the issue of Kashmir peacefully through tripartite negotiations between the Governments of India and Pakistan and the accredited Kashmiri leadership of the people of Kashmir.

Dr. Fai said that while it is notable that the world community has expressed its shock and dismay over India's nuclear blasts and the United States is even considering sanctions but all this amounts to mere lip service. He said that the real move toward peace, stability and nuclear non- proliferation in South Asia will only take place after the peaceful settlement of the Kashmir issue in accordance with the wishes of the people of Kashmir.

The Executive Director said that India was far too inebriated with power to listen to any advice. It is only a determined world community that can bring India back to its senses by forcefully demanding its compliance of the Security Council Resolutions and adherence to the Human Rights Charter.

Toronto, May 15, 1998. On the occasion of the G-8 Birmingham Summit (May 15-17), the Kashmiri-Canadian Council (KCC) urges leaders of the G-8 countries, and the President of European Commission to help India and Pakistan to transform the Kashmir dispute from being a bone of contention to a bridge of understanding for lasting peace in South Asia.

Mr. Mushtaq A. Jeelani, Executive Director of the KCC, in separate letters to US President Bill Clinton, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, French President Jacques Chirac, German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi, Japanese Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto, Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien, Russian President Boris Yeltsin, and the President of the European Commission Jacques Santer, expressed his serious concern about the most recent proliferation that is threatening to cause permanent instability in South Asia, and as a direct consequence, it could have serious global implications.

The Executive Director said: The G-8 leaders are meeting in the English city of Birmingham at a time when India has challenged the will of the world community by conducting five nuclear tests in three days, and seriously undermined international efforts towards disarmament, and nuclear non-proliferation. Notwithstanding, the international community has failed to persuade India to comply with the now fifty-year-old UN Security Council resolutions, which if implemented, would resolve the Kashmir dispute, and put the brakes on the quest for nuclear weapons by both India and Pakistan.

Mr. Jeelani reminded the leaders that the Kashmir dispute remains a "powder keg" in South Asia, unfolding a great human tragedy for millions of Kashmiri people and rekindling the fear of a third war between two nuclear neighbours and arch rivals.

He emphasised that bilateral dialogue between India and Pakistan will never be fruitful unless India announces its commitment to the basic principles involved in accepting the UN resolutions, which give the people of Jammu and Kashmir their right of self-determination.

He warned that once again, India's Hindu nationalist-led government's refusal to address the Kashmir question has heightened tensions in the region thus making it a nuclear flashpoint for the international community.

"The arms race on the subcontinent is likely to intensify in the coming months. The most recent proliferation is threatening to cause permanent instability in South Asia, and as a direct consequence, it will have serious global implications."

Mr. Jeelani cautioned that the boiling pot of political tension in South Asia is being stirred by the non-resolution of the Kashmir dispute coupled with the fact that New Delhi has refused to sign the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT). India has also refused to sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty or CTBT, which was adopted last year and ratified by many western governments.

The Executive Director reminded the Birmingham Summit leaders that at the G-7 Halifax Summit in 1995, the leaders had committed to a process of multilateral engagement: "The United Nations must be able to act more quickly and effectively to address threats to international peace, and security. We, for our part, are determined to coordinate more closely our individual efforts to assist in the prevention, management, and resolution of conflicts . . ."

He commented that on the question of Kashmir, the leaders acknowledged that they were "concerned about the potential for conflict in Kashmir" urging all parties "to pursue a peaceful settlement, to help lower tension and build confidence on the subcontinent, as well as strengthen the framework of global security."

Mr. Jeelani said, "since these promising words were pronounced in 1995, no steps have been taken thus far to help resolve the Kashmir dispute. For the last 50 years, the people of Kashmir have witnessed nothing but lip service from the international community. No serious efforts have been made to put an end to their misery under Indian-occupation."

He suggested the leaders at the Summit that it is time for the G-8 countries "to break out of tunnel vision when it comes to the region." The leading industrialised nations' strategic interest in the subcontinent has focused so far on limiting both countries access to advanced weapons technology coupled with a lukewarm attempt to resolve the dispute over Kashmir.

"Helping to move the process towards lasting peace and stability must be a top priority for the international community, and more importantly the western nations. This must not just be an attempt to gain economic advantage in an enormous market, but a process that would create a stable environment through lasting peace and justice."

Mr. Jeelani underscored "The prospects of peace and progress in South Asia are inseparably linked with the recognition of the Kashmiri people's right to decide their future and thus rest upon the world community's willingness to make a positive contribution towards resolving the dispute in this framework."

He said that the KCC views the continued hostility between India and Pakistan as a threat to regional peace. Both countries have already fought two wars over Kashmir. "Will the international community allow yet another war to be fought before taking swift action to resolve the crisis?"

On behalf of the KCC, he urged the Summit leaders, "to examine whether to allow India and Pakistan to remain locked in this bitter conflict, and if so, for how much longer. How long will the global community allow these two countries to divert their valuable resources away from issues of sustainable development — hunger, health, and education projects — in order to fuel the pot of discontent in Kashmir?"

Mr. Jeelani maintained that the KCC believes that the G-8 nations can help India and Pakistan "to transform the Kashmir dispute from being a bone of contention to a bridge of understanding for lasting peace in South Asia."

"Given their interest in peace and stability in the region and their support for democracy and freedom, the KCC urges leaders at the Summit to press for a peaceful political solution to the conflict and an end to untold misery in Kashmir," concluded Mr. Jeelani.

Washington, D.C. May 18, 1998

The Kashmiri American Council (KAC) today urged both India and Pakistan to desist from nuclear "tit-for-tat," to dismantle their respective nuclear programs like South Africa, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakstan, Argentina, Brazil and Taiwan, and to grant the legitimate Kashmiri leadership a long-denied seat at the India-Pakistan negotiating table to resolve a 50- year-old conflict over the disputed territory of Jammu and Kashmir Executive Director of the KAC, Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai, amplified: "Kashmir is the nuclear fuse of nuclear warheads in South Asia It has sparked two-pre-nuclear wars between India and Pakistan since 1947, and, at present, is the most likely trigger of a world-endangering nuclear volley"'

Since 1948, India has defied its self-sponsored United Nations Security Council resolutions prescribing a self-determination in Kashmir Since 1989, tens of thousands of Kashmiris have been killed by Indian military and paramilitary forces, and human rights horrors in the disputed territory have become commonplace, as testified to by every human rights organization that has examined the facts Dr. Fai underscored that peaceful resolution of the Kashmir conflict is an illusion if representatives from the 13 million Kashmiri community are denied a primary voice in negotiations He drew an analogy to the British invitation to Sinn Fein in negotiating an end to violence in Northern Ireland conditioned on its renunciation of support from IRA terrorism "Kashmiri leadership, All Parties Hurriyet Conference (APHC) is even more deserving of equal partnership with India and Pakistan in negotiating a non-violent resolution of Kashmir because the APHC has invariably rejected violence, in favor of a peaceful political answer to what is at heart a political problem," said Dr. Fai "The APHC and KAC have categorically condemned terrorism no matter what the race, religion, gender, ethnicity, or political viewpoint of the victims," he emphasized.

28 May 1998 - Pakistan has responded to Indian nuclear testing and mouting Indian threats of attack on Pakistan territory. Tests have been conducted after hours of receiving credible evidence of imminent Indian attack on Pakistan nuclear installation and continuing heavy by Indian forces at Line of Control (ceasefire line) in Kashmir. The balance of power has been restored back to pre-May 11, 1998, the day India conducted its Nuclear testing. Pakistanis fearful of Indian attack by Hindu fundamentalist Government's aggressive posture, celebrated & congratulated each other on the news of Pakistan Nuclear Deterrent.

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (FPS) -- Pakistan's military has deployed Ghauri missiles at various places in Pakistan to protect the country's nuclear installations and nuclear test facilities in Baluchistan from any air or missile attack by India. The Ghauri missiles are now armed with nuclear and conventional warheads. They were moved out from research laboratories and aimed at various Indian cities as well as India's nuclear installations on Wednesday after Pakistani intelligence sources disclosed that an Indian Air Force, Army, or missile attack against Pakistan or Azad Kashmir could take place in the near future.

The range of the Ghauri missiles is 930 miles. One was successfully tested in April. The range of Pakistan's M-11 surface-to-surface missiles is 170 to 190 miles and the range of its Hatf-3 missiles is 370 to 500 miles. Hatf-3 was tested in last July.

Prithvi, India's surface-to-surface nuclear missile has a range of 93 to 150 miles, and the range of India's other nuclear missile, Agni, is 1,250 miles.

Because Pakistan has conducted its five nuclear weapons tests in Baluchistan, Pakistani military leaders have ordered the Pakistan Air Force and the Army to remain in full alert condition 24 hours a day.

Since India conducted its five underground nuclear weapons tests last week in Pokhran, Rajasthan, the Pakistan Air Force has been engaged in attack and defense exercises.

Meanwhile, Pakistan's Ambassador to the United Nations told CNN Wednesday night that his government had reliable information about Indian intentions to launch air strikes against Pakistan's nuclear test facilities. But U.S. officials said they saw no evidence to support that fear.

Ahmad Kamal told CNN that if India strikes, Pakistan's response would be "massive" and would "bode ill for peace." "We're involved in this threat and in making sure that it does not arise because if it does, the world must understand that Pakistan is ready, that it will react, that the reaction will be massive and dissuasive, and that it would lead us into a situation which would bode ill for peace and security, not only in the region, but beyond," Kamal said.

White House spokesman Mike McCurry on Wednesday night downplayed the possibility of an attack by India against Pakistan. "The U.S. has no basis to believe what CNN has been told is true," McCurry said.

Kamal, who did not disclose the source of information about an attack, told U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and the government of the Security Council's five permanent members about his country's concern, according to a U.N. spokesman.

LONDON-UK (SC-SRTV) - Pakistan today reluctantly tested a number of defensive nuclear devices to help maintain a balance of power in the region. After US, UK, France, Russia, China, Israel and India, Pakistan is now a member of the most exclusive club of nuclear powers. Two weeks ago India started a full-scale, deadly and offensive nuclear arms race in Asia by completing five nuclear tests for its 5,000 Israeli made ICBMs (Inter-Continental Ballistic Missiles), including thousands of long-range Prithvi, Sagarika and Agni missiles to help inflame tensions in the region and beyond. India has stockpiled enriched uranium to make and deploy 15,000 WMDs within weeks.

Indian governments often threatens to "crush Pakistan", "reunite Mother India" and create "greater India".

This underlines the real threat to the regional security, lasting peace and stability.

"For years Israel and Russia have been supplying India with deadly missile and offensive nuclear technology. Pakistan is now ready to adapt a nuclear warhead to its defensive Ghauri missile to help maintain regional peace, stability and security, and counter any Indian or Russian threats," an intelligence source told Shanti RTV news agency.

"India and Israel were identified by the CIA in 1970 as foreign entities engaging in proliferation of long-range weapons of mass destruction, including germ arsenals (anthrax, a deadly bacterium), advanced nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, capable of reaching many European and US cities. The Indian missiles are delpoyed to hit US bases and interests in the region. But senior Israeli intelligence agents working for the CIA ordered CIA chiefs not to pass on the information to the US presidents, and turn a blind eye to the covert bomb deals between India and Israel," the source explained. "Israel stole the US and European technology, especially military and computer technology, and exported them in an illegal and pirated form to India ready to pay the price in cash," the source confirmed.