New Delhi, July 12: Condemning the recent civilian killings in Kashmir, an influential group of Delhi-based civil liberty activists Monday called for pulling the army back to the barracks and revocation and release of all the political detainees in the Valley to pave the way for a meaningful dialogue with all the stakeholders.
“With all emphasis at our command, we urge the central government to at once send the army back to the barracks and out of all inhabited areas in the Valley, release all arrested political leaders, activists and protesters, repeal the black AFPSA and urgently start dialogue with both the stakeholders in the Valley as well as with Pakistan to solve this vexed issue once and for all,” a statement issued here Monday said.
The statement said that the situation in Kashmir demands a political, not a military, solution. “We hope the UPA will not leave this issue burning for another generation to solve it,” it said.
The statement termed the deployment of army in many areas of the Valley “a shameful attempt to cover up for the utter political failure of both the central and state governments.” It further said; “This is evident in both the Omar Abdullah government’s inability to handle the situation and the central government’s lack of ideas and initiatives.”
The group as also condemned the recent killing of innocent civilians in police firing in the Valley.
The group includes Dr JK Jain (Chairman, Jain TV), Syed Shahabuddin (President, All India Muslim Majlis-e Mushawarat), Prem Shankar Jha (Columnist), Prof Ram Puniyani (All India Secular Forum), ND Pancholi (People’s Union of Civil Liberties), Manisha Sethi (Jamia Teachers’ Solidarity Association), Yugal Kishor Saran Shastri (Ayodhya),Prof Nirmalangshu Mukherji (Delhi University), Dr Shamsul Islam (Delhi University), Neelima Sharma (Theatre Person), Zafar Mahmood (President, Interfaith Coalition),Kamal Faruqui (Ex-Chairman, Minorities Commission Delhi), Navaid Hamid (Member, National Integration Council), Dr MH Jawahirullah (President, Tamilnadu Muslim Munnetra Kazhagam), Lateef Muhammad Khan (Civil Liberties Monitoring Committee),and Dr Zafarul-Islam Khan (Editor, The Milli Gazette).
Pertinently, the group had played a crucial role in resolving the Amarnath land row in 2008.
Meanwhile, Hyderabad-based Civil Liberties Monitoring Committee has expressed deep concerns over “the violation of human rights in the Kashmir valley.”
In a letter sent to the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, it has demanded from the government of India, to withdraw the armed forces from the valley and restore the life and liberty of Kashmiri people.
Condemning the recent violence in the state, it has termed the use of army against the civilians, who are protesting in democratic manner, “a violation of national and international human rights guidelines.”
It has called upon the civil society to pressurize the Government of India, to respect the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), withdraw the armed forces and restore the confidence of the people of the Kashmir valley.
It has also said that, the lasting peace in Jammu and Kashmir will come, only when the government of India scraps the draconian laws, releases the Kashmiri people from the jails, starts the peace talks with the Kashmiri leaders and resolve the Kashmir problem according to the will and wish of the people of Kashmir.

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