Srinagar, Aug 31: Maintaining that the ongoing movement does not belong to any individual or party, the Chairman of Hurriyat Conference (M) Mirwaiz Umar Farooq on Tuesday said he had started unification efforts with the Hurriyat (G) and other pro-freedom groups.
 In an interview with local news agency KNS Mirwaiz said he has initiated the process to ensure unification between different pro-freedom groups. “At a time when our youth are being killed with impunity, I have been seriously thinking about the need for unity among the pro-freedom groups. I have finally initiated the process by forming two committees to undertake deliberations with Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Muhammad Yasin Malik and others,” Mirwaiz said.
 He said it is the responsibility of all the leaders and people to take the movement to its logical conclusion. “If Syed Ali Shah Geelani fails at this juncture, it will not be his personal failure but of whole nation. In this situation, it will drastically affect the movement. This movement does not belong to any individual or organization but to the whole nation and everybody has to carry it forward,” he said.
 However, Mirwaiz suggested that the unification between the Hurriyat factions can have Common Minimum Programs. “Need of the hour is need to institutionalize the movement and include the people from different walks of life to strengthen it. We can afford to bear the losses to some extent  in trade and business activities due to the ongoing agitation. We have to devise an action plan to ensure that students don’t suffer,” he said.
 Rejecting the statement of Home Minister, P Chidambaram that he was in touch with him, Mirwaiz said, “New Delhi has always tried to create a division between pro-freedom leaders.”
 On a question about the Hurriyat (G)’s Quit Jammu Kashmir Movement, Mirwaiz said every Kashmiri wants to see the troopers out from Kashmir. “But for it there cannot be any deadline. There is need for pro-freedom leaders to unite and chalk out a comprehensive policy to ensure complete demilitarization,” he said.
 Mirwaiz said after 2008, it is for the third time that the pro-freedom leadership had got a change to give voice to aspirations of Kashmiris. “While carrying forward the movement, it is the responsibility of the leadership to bear in mind that people don’t suffer,” he said.
 He said the elections and jobs can be the compulsions or necessities of the Kashmiris. “But by linking them with the resolution of Kashmir Government of India is trying to create confusion,” he added.
 Mirwaiz said the Hurriyat’s stand on the resolution of Kashmir issue has been clear. “In its 1993 constitution, the conglomerate has made it clear that the solution of Kashmir lies in the implementation of UN resolution,” he said.
 On the four-point formula of the former Pakistani president, General Pervez Musharaff, Mirwaiz said their implementation could have be help to build confidence and pave way for resolution of the dispute.

Lastupdate on : Mon, 30 Aug 2010 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Mon, 30 Aug 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Tue, 31 Aug 2010 00:00:00 IST