Burhan Wani was ready to die after talking to me: Hafeez Saeed

Gujranwala: Recounting his association with the Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani, who was recently killed in an encounter with the Indian security forces, 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed on Friday said that Wani was prepared to die after talking to him.

"Few days before his death, Burhan Wani told me over phone that it was his desire, his last wish, to talk with me. ‘Now that my desire has been fulfilled, I am waiting for martyrdom,’ he told me," said Saeed in an event organized to express solidarity with Wani.

"I want to assure the people of Kashmir that if you are in the field, we are also with you," said the Jamaat-ud-Dawa leader.

Saeed also said that he had received a phone call from Asiya Andrabi, the founder of separatist group Dukhtaran-e-Millat, seeking his help to resolve what she called 'the crisis on the Indian side of Kashmir'.

Addressing a rally here, Saeed said, "My sister Asiya Andrabi cried for 15 minutes and asked me over phone, my brothers where are you?"

Assuring Asiya Andrabi that he was on his way to Kashmir, Saeed said, "This act of violence will come to end and nobody can stop Kashmir from becoming independent," he added.

Warning India, he said that it could either accept separatist Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani's four-point formula on Kashmir and withdraw security forces from the Valley, or face the decision in battlefield.

"We have to give a message to India to stop and withdraw forces and accept Geelani's four-point formula immediately, because, this is the last chance, and after this, the matter will be decided in the battlefield," Saeed said during his 'Kashmir Caravan' in Gujranwala.

The Jamaat-ud-Dawah leader organised a "Kashmir Caravan" from Lahore to Islamabad.

The caravan, comprising of trucks and buses, stretched for several kilometers, and passed through many cities, including Gujaranwala, Jhelum and Gujarat.

His rallies were attended by federal ministers and religious leaders of various organisations.

The Pakistan's Government direct links with Hafiz Saeed has been further exposed by Islamabad allowing him to lead an anti-India rally on the Kashmir issue.

Saeed lead a Pakistan Government call to Observe July 19 as a Black Day, apparently to draw attention to the "burning issue of Kashmir." Pakistan's irrevocable links with Saeed have disappointed the Obama Administration.

The US has designated both the Laskkar e Toiba ( LeT ) and the Jamaat ud Dawa ( JuD ) as terrorist organisations. Saeed has also been listed by the UN Security Council's 1267 Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee.

Those watching South Asia in Washington say that by allowing a terrorist to take up a government sponsored cause, the Pakistan Government has bared it's selective approach towards terrorism.

This connection was also highlighted by a European Parliament Report by Vice President Ryszard Czarnecki where he pointed out how the Falah e Insaniyat Foundation (FIF), a charity front of the LeT, was radicalising the Pakistani Diaspora while the state was a mute spectator.

The July 19 Kashmir Rally is certain to be brought up on Capitol Hill where proposals are afoot to cut financial aid to Pakistan in the absence of complete and verifiable de-linkage with terror groups.

While the Obama Administration has been supporting Pakistan as an important ally in the war against terror, this July 19 rally, where a wanted terrorist has been given state patronage, is certain to raise questions and embarrass Washington.