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Armed Struggle Will Continue in Kashmir: Hizbul Chief

By Fayaz Wani

Srinagar, March 5: The chief commander of the pro-Pakistan militant group Hizbul Mujahideen, Syed Salahuddin has said that the armed struggle will continue in Indian administered Kashmir till India starts result-oriented dialogue to resolve the Kashmir dispute.

"Salahuddin said this while paying tributes to four militants of the group, who were killed in a gunfight with Indian soldiers in South Kashmir on Thursday," Hizbul spokesman Ahsan Ilahi told local news gathering agencies in Srinagar, the summer capital of Kashmir.

Four militants of Hizbul Mujahideen were killed in a 30-hour long gunfight with Indian soldiers in south Kashmir yesterday. An Indian army captain was also killed and five other soldiers injured in the gunfight.

The Hizbul spokesman quoted the outfit's chief commander Syed Salahudin as have said that it was necessary to continue the armed struggle in Kashmir to end the Indian occupation. "The militant actions will continue till India agrees to start result oriented dialogue on Kashmir," he said.

The militancy erupted in Kashmir in 1989 after youth took to guns to end Delhi's rule on the region.

Salahuddin lauded the sacrifices rendered by Kashmiri masses and said that their sacrifices will bear fruit.

Hizbul Mujahideen is one of the largest indigenous militant groups in Kashmir. Most of the militants of the outfit are Kashmiris.

Fayaz Wani reports on life in Srinagar, Kashmir.