A militant group demanded Saturday that the Pakistan army cross the disputed border to aid "freedom fighters" in Indian-administered Kashmir.
The demand was made at a rally of Harkat Ul Mujahideen (HUM), one of the several groups fighting against Indian rule in the disputed Himalayan region.
Witnesses said more than 5,000 people attended the rally, held at Kundal Shahi town in the Neelum valley, along the Line of Control which divides Kashmir between Pakistan and India.
"The Pakistan army should cross the so-called Line of Control and help the Mujahideen (freedom fighters) in liberating Kashmir from Indian clutches," Hum leader Moulana Farooq Kashmiri told the rally.
"We do not recognize this bloody line and thats why we cross it daily," he said.
The HUM, which in the past, had operated under the name of Harkat Ul Ansar, has been declared a terrorist group by the United States.
Pakistan and India have fought two wars since 1947 over Kashmir, which is claimed by both countries. Last year, the rival armies were involved in a bloody border conflict in Kashmir's Kargil area.
India accuses its neighbor of fuelling a separatist drive which has claimed more than 24,000 lives since it erupted in 1989. Pakistan denies the charge -- MUZAFFARABAD (AFP)
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
