Srinagar, May 15: Peoples Democratic Party Patron Mufti Muhammad Sayeed has called for a peaceful people’s movement for resolving the Kashmir issue, saying Kashmiri youths would be a target of suspicion until the larger issue is resolved. He was addressing a card holders’ convention of Shangus constituency at Chhatpal hill resort in South Kashmir today.
Calling for renegotiation of terms with the NHPC and return of Salal, Dulhasti and Uri projects which had ‘earned more than their investment for the NHPC,’ he said it was unfair exploitation of J&K’s resources that has led the state to the crippling inability to pay salaries even to its employees. “While the NHPC is making a fortune out of our waters, the state is reeling under darkness and our educated youth are driven to menial jobs for lack of resources,” he said and asked his party cadre to take the message home at grass roots.
He said a peaceful people’s movement alone could force the government of India to see reason and reiterated his resolve to channelize the popular sentiments for resolution and return of resources to the state.
Mufti said it had become a routine to arrest and imprison Kashmiri youth in different parts of the country on flimsiest grounds and restrict their personal liberties guaranteed by the Constitution. Scores of innocent youth had fallen victim to this mindset of suspicion and bias, he said, and cited the example of a young boy from Srinagar who was let off by a Delhi court after 14 long years in jail.
He said such a treatment only enlarged the gulf between the people of the state and rest of the country, which needed to be addressed by the Prime Minister. He said while some of those arrested outside the state were released even after delayed verdicts of innocence and losing best years of their youth, the government in the state treated court orders in similar cases with outright contempt as happened with almost all leaders like Shabir Shah, Nayeem Khan, Ghulam Nabi Sumjhi and others.
Welcoming the restoration of high-level contact between India and Pakistan, Mufti said the time for mere cosmetics and semantics was over. “There has to be visible progress on Kashmir resolution to bring to an early end the dark chapter of hostility that had consumed many generations of people here who are now losing patience,” he cautioned. He said the anger and unrest in the state stems from the unresolved character of the issue to which the mis-governance was acting as fuel to the fire. “Kashmir cannot be stable and peaceful unless the larger issue is resolved and the standards of governance improved”, he said.
Mufti said the peace process will have to be invested with fresh impetus and credibility to instill confidence among the people of the state who are the primary stakeholders in its dividends. “It was however unfortunate that pronouncements of the Government of India remain mere statements as happened to the initiative of internal dialogue made by the Home Minister P Chidambaram last year,” he said and added instead of actually starting talks with leaders they were put in jails. “Similarly the confidence building measures taken on external front like the cross LOC trade and travel had apparently fallen into a groove.” He said if the process was to be rescued the government of India will have to remove hassles of documentation rather than complicate them and provide banking backup to traders and other logistical facilities.
Referring to the crucial issue of the water and power resources of the state, Mufti said whatever be the ultimate solution to the problem it cannot sustain without economic back up. “For that we need to have full control over our water resources,” he said and regretted that while other states of the country went to any extent to stress their rights over every drop of water the rivers of J&K were treated as unclaimed property. He said the decision of the Farooq Abdullah government to ‘hand over’ seven major projects to NHPC through ‘a personal agreement’ with the then Power Minister P Kumaramangalam was fatal to the interests of the state. The present government had unfortunately continued the tradition and parted with another three projects, he said.
Others who addressed the gathering included senior leaders Muzaffar Hussain Baig, Moulvi Iftikhar Hussain Ansari, Abdul Rehman Veeri, Nizamuddin Bhat

Lastupdate on : Sat, 15 May 2010 21:30:00 Makkah time
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