Kashmiri militant denounces slaughter in Mumbai

By Abu Arqam Naqash

MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan (Reuters) - A leader of militant groups in Pakistani Kashmir called the slaughter of civilians in Mumbai "reprehensible", and denied that any member of his alliance was involved.

Sayed Salahuddin heads the United Jihad Council, an umbrella organisation banding together around a dozen ethnic Kashmiri militant groups.

Suspicion has fallen on a non-member, Lashkar-e-Taiba. Though it fights for the Kashmiri cause, L-e-T was founded in the eastern Pakistani province of Punjab and mainly recruited Punjabis to its ranks.

"Let me be very clear once again that the United Jihad Council does not approve of civilian killings and under its code of conduct such an act is reprehensible," Salahuddin said.

"I can say with utmost certainty that none of Kashmiri jihadi groups has any involvement with the events in Mumbai," he told Reuters by telephone.

The targeting of Westerners and Jews as well as Indians in the attack supported views that the perpetrators subscribed to a global jihadi agenda, like al Qaeda's, and not just a regional dispute like Kashmir.

Security analysts say L-e-T and Jaish-e-Mohammad, another Punjabi-based militant group fighting for the Kashmiri cause, have links with al Qaeda.

Salahuddin, whose own group is Harkat-ul-Mujahideen, said the attacks in Mumbai were probably carried out by an Indian group in response to the oppression of minorities, including Muslims.