Srinagar Nov 26: Saleem Rahmani, 22, who police claimed to be Pakistani militant affiliated with Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), said it was long arduous journey to infiltrate into this side of Line of Control (LOC).
 Police on Friday presented Rahmani before the media at Police Control Room here to narrate his odyssey. Wearing a light khaki jacket over a wrinkled Khan suit, Rahmani settled comfortably on the chair without having a flit of worry on his face.
 “My name is Muhammad Saleem Rahmani. I belong to Nawabshah, Sindh area of Pakistan,” he said, while facing volley of questions from the newsmen. “I have no regrets that I was arrested. Or even I would not have minded if I would have got killed or beaten”. He said he infiltrated through Lolab area, crossed streams, and groped his way through forests during night.
 “We were eight people,” Rahmani said. “Our first face off with army was in Lolab. Three got martyred there. From Lolab we moved through Bandipore area to reach into Kangan.”
 He said in the forested Kangan area of Ganderbal, their group was again waylaid by army during the night.
 “Three of my friends got killed there. I saw one of my friends getting shot. He told me I had received bullet in abdomen. I told him be there and recite Kalima,” he said. “I too got injured in the gunfight. But I was able to reach the villages located on the fringes of forested hill”.
 Unaware of other group members, Rahmani said now beseeching help from the villagers.
 “Nobody helped me. I knew Allah has brought me from the death trap. He wants me to live. Later a boy taking pity on me took me to hospital,” he said. “I talked to many people there. They said there was no need for armed struggle.”
 “I had come for Jihad. Now I am of the opinion there is no need of that,” he added.
 For some time the cameramen shoved of each other to get his close-up shot, but he stood calm. “I do not know about Mumbai attacks. But after that, Pakistan government went on a large scale crackdown on Jama’at. They sealed the main training centres, even the district ones. I was trained in a temporary make shift camp established in Muzzafrabad before I crossed the border”.
 He said now the main training centres of Lashkar-e-Toiba were steadily becoming functional.

Lastupdate on : Fri, 26 Nov 2010 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Fri, 26 Nov 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Sat, 27 Nov 2010 00:00:00 IST