ABSTRACT
Benazir Bhutto and other Pakistani leaders parried Indian charges of Pakistani complicity in the insurgency by declaring that the Kashmiri militancy was “indigenous and intrinsic.” Unable any longer to resist pressure from conservative elements urging a more aggressive posture, she loudly proclaimed the Kashmiris’ right to self-determination.39 On March 13, as massive demonstrations continued against the crackdown of the security forces in Srinagar, Bhutto traveled to Muzzafarabad in Pakistan-held Kashmir, where she promised a “thousand-year war” in support of the militants and announced the creation of a $4 million fund to support the “freedom fighters” across the LOC.40 Although the material effect of such support would be slight, it considerably raised the symbolic content of the conflict – and for many Indians, Pakistanis, and Kashmiris, the conflict became an intensely emotional issue.
