Srinagar: The incarcerated chairman of Democratic Freedom Party (DFP) Shabir Ahmad Shah on Thursday made it clear to Indian leader Mani Shankar Aiyar that the people of Jammu Kashmir will never give up their struggle for right to self-determination.
As per a statement issued to KNS, Mani Shankar Aiyar led delegation on Thursdayafternoon called on Shabir Ahmad Shah at his Sanat Nagar residence and held discussion with him. The delegation also comprised O P Shah, I D Khajuria, Kapil Kak (Retd Air Vice Marshal), and Vinod Sharma.
During the meeting, Shah while putting forward his viewpoint said, “We are not in favour of strained relations between India and Pakistan but demand justifiable solution to Kashmir dispute which has been the bone of contention between the two nuclear neighbouring nations.”
Shah told the Aiyar-led delegation that India has left no stone unturned to inflict worst kind of atrocities on the people of the disputed territory and urged the delegates to “sincerely” make aware the people of India and its leaders about the reality of Jammu Kashmir.
The DFP chairman urged the delegation to meet the people of Valley and listen to their viewpoint as to what tragedies have befallen on them. “India has witnessed the Jalianwala Bagh Massacre but in Kashmir, such massacres are a routine. We don’t have enmity with the people of India but demand the right to decide our future. History stands testimony to the fact that Jammu Kashmir was an independent territory even before the birth of India,” he said.
On “threatening and provocative” statements being issued by Indian political and military leadership against Kashmiris, Shah said a “vicious propaganda” is being unleashed by asserting that the freedom movement is restricted to just three and a half districts. “Such statements are aimed at misleading the gullible people of India. If such is the case, why is New Delhi scared of seeking the opinion of the people of the state,” he said.
“A reign of oppression has been unleashed upon the students across the Valley. The occupational forces by entering the educational institutions are provoking the students who have been detained in hundreds. Similar protests take place in Indian states but bullets and pellets rule the roost only in Kashmir. As such, our youth are being pushed to the wall and it is quite natural that people will protest against such oppression,” Shah asserted.
“As far as resistance leaders are concerned, all options of registering peaceful protests have been closed. The state has been turned into a virtual jail and social media stands banned which is the murder of the right to freedom of expression and aimed at strangulating our genuine voices. These oppressive measures force our youth to take the extreme step.”
He told the delegation to seek the opinion of minorities of J&K as to how they are treated by the people from majority class. “Unfortunately, Muslims who are in minority in Jammu are subjected to worst kind of treatment and are suppressed in every respect,” he said.
Shabir Ahmad Shah told the delegation that “we’re not scared of dialogue but are of the view that it should be tripartite and unconditional”. “If New Delhi says it won’t hold talks, we too are not begging for the same. This brings home the point that Indian leadership has no valid point. The international community needs to play its role on Kashmir and take steps to bring all the stakeholder of this dispute on a resolution table,” he said.
“We hope you will pass our message to the people of your country that we’re not against the integrity of India but are struggling for our birth right of self-determination. We will continue to pin our hopes on intellectual class and politically mature people that they will support our cause,” Shah told the Mani Shankar Aiyar-led delegation. (KNS)
