Srinagar: Hurriyat Conference (M) chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq on Sunday expressed gratitude to Pakistan for “unconditional and unflinching” support to the political movement of the people of Jammu and Kashmir for the right to self-determination.
On the occasion of observing February 5 as Kashmir Solidarity Day by Islamabad, Mirwaiz who continues to be under house arrest, in a message said the people of Jammu and Kashmir and Hurriyat Conference has always appreciated the support of Pakistan, at all levels, be it diplomatic political or moral for the past seven decades, despite difficult and testing times for the country itself. “We also appreciate the Government of Pakistan and its leadership who has always extended all possible support to our political movement for the resolution of Kashmir dispute.”
Mirwaiz added: “The people of Kashmir have for a long time now been battling hardships and oppression. The people of Kashmir in order to relinquish their struggle are being targeted by bullets and pellets, resistance leadership, activists, human right groups, intellectuals, newspaper offices, civil society members, and traders are also being targeted and harassed for their association and sympathies with the people’s movement.”
In last two years, Mirwaiz said that after the popular mass uprising for the exercise of the right to self-determination in 2016, the “suppression and reign of terror was let loose with all its notoriety on the population of Kashmir.”
“ 618 Kashmiries most of them youth were martyred and over 16,000 injured, 70% of them by pellets at the hands of government forces. Putting the Resistance leadership, including me, under house arrest or in police custody has been a routine for this period and it is very seldom that I am allowed to move out of my residence,” Mirwaiz said. Not only the political rights, he said, religious rights of the people are being curtailed by the use of “naked force.”
“Whereas the historic Jama Masjid of Srinagar remained locked for most of the time in 2016, in 2017 it was locked for 18 Fridays and Friday namaz was not allowed there.”
He said in spite of all the suppression, the ruthless rulers have not been able to break the will and commitment of the people towards the movement. “The continued help and support extended by Pakistan in such difficult and trying circumstances has always strengthened the determination of the people to carry forward their just and legitimate peaceful political struggle.”
Mirwaiz said Pakistan being one of the main parties to Kashmir ‘dispute’ has always played a frontal role at both regional and international level in highlighting the suffering of the Kashmiris as well as presenting the Kashmir dispute in its historical context.
He said it was his firm belief that the resolution of the Kashmir ‘dispute’ lay in either the implementation of the United Nations’ resolutions or through the alternative route of dialogue among New Delhi, Islamabad and Kashmiris. “And unless this dispute is addressed New Delhi’s continues policy of obduracy and inflexibility over the resolution of the Kashmir dispute while ignoring the historical perspective, the ground realities and political actualities of Kashmir were prolonging our suffering and confrontation between the two nuclear neighbors.”
Given to the situation prevalent in Jammu and Kashmir and the subcontinent, he said, putting the resolution of Kashmir ‘dispute’ under the carpet was likely to prove dangerous and harmful to the peace and stability of this region. He said it was high time that Government and leadership of India address the issue and take practical steps to initiate a meaningful and result-orientated dialogue both with Islamabad as well as with people of Kashmir and end the environment of confrontation of over 7 decades in the region the maximum brunt of which was being borne by the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
