Srinagar, January 17, 2018 (PPI-OT):In occupied Kashmir, the Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL) comprising Syed Ali Gilani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Muhammad Yasin Malik, has said that the Hurriyat leadership is not against the dialogue but Indian repression in the territory must end first before the initiation of talks process.
The resistance leaders in a joint statement issued in Srinagar termed the puppet Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti’s assertion that the Hurriyat leadership was shying away from participating in the dialogue process as mischievous and misleading.
They said that no sane person would oppose a meaningful dialogue process as a means of conflict resolution, especially when the entire population of occupied Kashmir was reeling under grueling repression and paying so dearly. However, they said, the dialogue has to be aimed at settling the Kashmir dispute. “The (dialogue) offer becomes unrealistic and suspect when it is qualified with parameters and conditions like ‘within the Indian Constitution’, ‘accepting accession as final’ and so on. It then becomes a tool to tide over the current crisis, maintain the status-quo, buy time to weaken the movement and the leadership, and linger on the issue, as has been observed in the past,” they added.
The statement said that instead of creating an atmosphere conducive for engagement if that is the real intent, what Kashmiri people and the resistance leadership instead see is further increase and aggressiveness in military operations like ‘operation all-out’, which is only aimed at killing youth and anyone who protests.
The resistance leaders calling the situation in occupied Kashmir as volatile said, apart from instilling fear of the Indian forces in people and harass them and dissuade them from their political struggle, all space for the resistance leadership is simultaneously chocked and pressure put on leaders to stop representing the sentiments of the Kashmiri people and yield.
“In terms of repression and human rights violations, the situation is at its all-time low. All our institutions – educational, social and religious – are under assault. Each day, under a well-planned strategy of RSS, new threats emanate to these institutions from various power centers of New Delhi. The aim is to undermine our identity and eventually change the demographic character of Jammu and Kashmir and the discourse on Kashmir,” the JRL said. It deplored that instead of resisting these moves, the puppet rulers are abetting India and are then, in order to divert the people’s attention, raising the bogey of dialogue just to ensure their smooth stay in power. “It is just a gimmick.”
The JRL pointed out that while Mehbooba Mufti calls Maharaja Hari Singh’s so-called accession to India as historic, she advocates dialogue for the resolution of the Kashmir dispute in the same breath. “It shows their (pro-India politicians’) duplicity and betrayal to the people. Kashmir dispute has now become 70-year-old whose resolution is best possible by giving the people their basic right of self-determination as was recently suggested by an Indian intellectual, giving reference of Scotland and Ireland,” it said.
The leaders said, an alternative way to resolution of the issue can also be a sustained, transparent and meaningful dialogue process where all three parties – India, Pakistan and the representatives of Kashmiris – come together to reach a solution acceptable to all the stakeholders. We have always welcomed a sustained and meaningful dialogue for the resolution of the Kashmir dispute as per the wishes of Kashmiri people, who are the main stakeholders of the dispute, they added.
“Instead of making meaningless statements on dialogue, the least Mehbooba Mufti can do is put an end to repression by stopping ‘operation all-out’ which leaves behind a trail of killings, blinding and maiming, especially young boys and even women now and razing homes to the ground, forcing people of all ages out of their homes in biting cold and harassing them. An end should be put to arbitrary arrests of Kashmiri people (like Bilal Kawa) at will, raiding and arresting resistance leaders by the NIA (National Investigation Agency) and ED (Enforcement Directorate) and then lodging them in notorious Tihar Jail in New Delhi and also the assault on the Kashmiri prisoners there. All political prisoners should be released,” the leaders said.
“We should be also be released and allowed to reach out to families of those whose loved ones are killed by Indian forces. Turning entire Srinagar into a military fortress, especially on every Friday, should be stopped. An end should be put to targeting of masjids, shrines and now also educational institutions of Kashmir,” they added.
“If Mehbooba Mufti really means what she says and has a heart, she should ensure these things are done and an atmosphere is created where one can see and feel that some semblance of humanity is restored and people’s and leadership’s faith in dialogue will also be restored and we can move forward towards peace,” the JRL said.
Meanwhile, the JRL expressed condolence over the death of Muhammad Ayoub Butt of Shopian who had sustained serious bullet injuries in Indian forces’ action about a month ago. It expressed solidarity and sympathy with the family members of the victim and stated that the sacrifices offered by the Kashmiri people will be protected at all costs.
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