A horrifying agenda

Since the Mumbai atrocities there has been a lot written about the need for a settlement in Kashmir. Undoubtedly, a resolution to this conflict is to be wished for on it own terms and because it would make cooperation between India and Pakistan easier. But as Patrick French argues in a trenchant op-ed in today’s New York Times, the idea that the ending of the Kashmir dispute would see the terrorists put down their arms is naïve in the extreme. Here he describes the views of Hafiz Saeed, the leader of Lashkar-e-Taiba “who lives on a large estate outside Lahore bought with Saudi Money”:

“Mr. Saeed’s hatreds are catholic — his bugbears include Hindus, Shiites and women who wear bikinis. He regards democracy as ‘a Jewish and Christian import from Europe,’ and considers suicide attacks to be in accordance with Islam. He has a wider strategy: ‘At this time our contest is Kashmir.