Srinagar, Aug 27: Member Parliament and chairman of Hyderabad based All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, Assaduddin Owaisi, on Friday described the situation in Kashmir as dangerous and called on Government of India (GoI) to put an end to the killing spree and the human rights violations across the Valley.
Owaisi, who castigated the centre and state government during a debate on Kashmir unrest in the Lok Sabha on Thursday, in an exclusive telephonic interview with Greater Kashmir said that any Indian irrespective of whether he being a Muslim or a Hindu cannot tolerate 8-year old child being beaten to death and 64 innocents falling to the bullets of the government forces. “Entire India condemns human rights violations and we stand by our Kashmiri brethren in this hour of grief,” he said.
Owaisi expressed serious concern over women and children taking to the streets. “This shows that there is deep rooted anger within Kashmiris. It needs to be addressed without wasting anymore time.”
The 41-year old parliamentarian who was elected to Lok Sabha for the second consecutive time in 2009 said that Kashmir was a humanitarian issue and it needs to be addressed in a humane way. “GoI has to come forward and provide immediate relief to Kashmiris. It cannot wait and watch,” he added.
He expressed anguish over the curfew being imposed in the holy month of Ramadan and people not being allowed to offer congregational prayers. “You cannot keep Masjids locked and stop people from discharging their religious duties. This is unacceptable,” Owaisi said.
He said that increase in number of tourists visiting the Valley, peaceful conduct of Amarnath Yatra and high voter turnout do indicate that situation in Kashmir was improving. “It seems all the good work done in the past has been lost during the past 3-months. Kashmiris are once again at loggerheads with GoI. Lot still needs to be done to win the trust of Kashmiris.”
Owaisi said that armed forces had to be made accountable and someone had to own the responsibility for the present mess in Kashmir.
Asked what is the take of Indian Muslims on Kashmir, Owaisi said, “Kashmir is an integral part of India but we have to address the genuine grievances of the people. It is political as well as administrative issue and both these aspects need to be addressed simultaneously.”
Owaisi, whose party is a part of the United Progressive Alliance at centre, maintained that solution of the Kashmir issue had to be found within the ambit of Indian constitution but he was quick to add that rulers have to own Kashmiris. “People of Kashmir are our own countrymen and we have to own them. The policy of love Kashmir and not Kashmiris has to change,” he said.
The young parliamentarian was of the opinion that the GoI should talk to the people who want to talk and it should allow saner voices to prevail. “Talks are the only way forward. No issue till date has been resolved through violence. Kashmiris as well as leaders in New Delhi need to understand this fact,” Owaisi added.
He criticized GoI for making “Quiet Talks” public. “It was unfortunate that details about Quiet Talks were leaked to media. Had our leaders been cautious at that time, today the situation in Kashmir would have been different and hardliners would not have been calling the shots,” Owaisi added.
Earlier participating in the debate on Kashmir in the Lok Sabha on Thursday, Owaisi said that Omar Abdullah government had failed to deliver in Jammu and Kashmir. He sought special attention for listening to the “hearts and minds” of Kashmiris instead of using force to kill innocents.
In an impassioned speech in Lok Sabha today, Owaisi struck an emotional chord with Kashmir saying that his heart bleeds for those families who lost 65 of their dear ones during the ongoing turmoil. “I pay my tributes to those innocents who were killed during two months”, he said adding that he also felt for the security personnel incase they have lost their lives in this agitation.

Lastupdate on : Fri, 27 Aug 2010 21:30:00 Mecca time
Lastupdate on : Fri, 27 Aug 2010 18:30:00 GMT
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