We must sacrifice everything for Holy War. In Pakistan's capital, Islamabad, Foreign Minister Sartaj Aziz said that certain groups of Islamic militants have begun to withdraw their forces from the mountains in response to an appeal made by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif after he met with President Clinton last weekend in Washington. Aziz said that the military operations chiefs of India and Pakistan had met twice in the past two days at the border and agreed to gradually cease hostilities along the Line of Control that separates Indian from Pakistani Kashmir. They have taken a voluntary decision to de-escalate. But he said he did not know which of the 16 insurgent groups were withdrawing, where they would go, or how either India or Pakistan could confirm the actual pullback was taking place.
Indian officials claim they have simply defeated the insurgents.
So far, no guerrilla leaders have said publicly they are willing to pull back from the border, although several have said they would consider it. In Washington, White House spokesman Barry Toiv said he could not confirm whether guerrillas were withdrawing from the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir but said the United States would welcome such a move. In Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistani Kashmir, where thousands of refugees have fled from Indian Kashmir in the past decade, many young men are still being trained and sent back into the armed insurgency across the border. It is the aim of our life to struggle for freedom. On Saturday, he marched behind the flag-draped coffin of his son Muhammad as it was borne through Muzaffarabad along with those of five other militants who died in fighting last week.