Srinagar, Aug 27: The Chairman of Hurriyat Conference (M) Mirwaiz Umar Farooq on Friday came down heavily on National Conference president Dr Farooq Abdullah for ridiculing the Kashmiris’ demand for freedom and accused him to exploiting the sentiments of Kashmiris to appease New Delhi.
 “By stating that Kashmir’s future lies with India and ridiculing the demand for Azadi, Dr Farooq Abdullah is behaving like more loyal than the king to appease New Delhi. It is ironical that the party which has been in power for over six decades has deliberately failed to acknowledge the aspirations of Kashmiris mainly to show loyalty to India and satiate its vested interests,” Mirwaiz said while addressing the Friday congregation at the historic Jamia Masjid here.
 “It is a shame on leaders like Dr Farooq who say that Kashmiris want to live with India. On the other hand an MP from Hyderabad, Assaud-u-din Owaisi, despite not being a Kashmiri, vociferously and from the core of his heart acknowledged that innocents are being killed in Kashmir and expressed serious concern over it. We want to tell leaders like Dr Farooq that for God’s sake stop exploitation of Kashmiris,” he said.
 Mirwaiz said if the Members of Parliament were serious over the prevailing situation in Kashmir they should translate their statements into action.
 On the PM’s statement advocating use of non-lethal crowd-control measures, Mirwaiz said: “Instead of thinking about crowd-control measures, the PM should have acknowledged the sentiments of Kashmiris to pave way for final settlement of the dispute. However, I want to maintain that using force on unarmed Kashmiris to suppress their aspirations will increase the alienation towards New Delhi and strengthen our resolve to achieve freedom,” he added.
 Mirwaiz termed the killing of a youth Omar Qayoom due to alleged torture by police as worst form of human rights violations. “He was ruthlessly beaten by rifle butts. Omar’s killing is the real face of Indian democracy,” he said.
 Maintaining that members of the Sikh community were imperative part of the Kashmiri society and ongoing resistance movement, He said Coordination Committee will be soon formed in the areas where Sikhs are living to strengthen the age-old harmony between the two communities.
 Mirwaiz urged the people of the Valley to offer prayers on September 3 at Jamia Masjid on the occasion of Jamait-ul-Vida. He said this day will be observed as Kashmir Day. “We will pass a resolution on this day to reaffirm our pledge to attain right to self-determination and take it to world forums to garner support for our just cause,” he said.
 Mirwaiz also appealed the people to donate generously for strengthening the Bait-ul-Maals and lending financial support to the families of those who were killed during the past two months. On the occasion of Youm-e-Badr, he asked people to offer Zuhr prayers at Aali Masjid on Saturday, August 28.
 Later, Mirwaiz led a massive procession from Jamia Masjid to Naqshband Sahib and staged protests against the human rights violations.

Lastupdate on : Fri, 27 Aug 2010 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Fri, 27 Aug 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Sat, 28 Aug 2010 00:00:00 IST