Lashkar-e-Tayyaba founder Hafiz Saeed, who had masterminded the 26/11 Mumbai attack in 2008, said on Friday India was trying to destabilise Pakistan and predicted violence in Kashmir could get “ugly”.
“We do not want any force to be used or any military operation for this. But the Indians are opting for the other alternative,” Saeed said in a telephone interview.
Saeed denied allegations by Indian officials that he had recently visited Pakistan-occupied Kashmir to incite action against India just before the recent outbreak of the worst violence since a ceasefire nearly a decade ago.
Saeed accused India of trying to disrupt the peace process and dragging its feet on a Kashmir solution.
“This is their usual practice... They want to escalate the violence to avoid a permanent resolution... This border tension can turn to an ugly situation like a war, and we want to avoid it.”