Srinagar, July 30: While the separatists asserted that nothing short of complete independence was acceptable to them, at a public meeting here on Saturday the mainstream leaders called for building convergence among different political parties for the resolution of Kashmir issue. The daylong meeting titled ‘Kashmir: The roadmap to peace’ was organized by New Delhi-based think-tank, Centre for Policy Analysis.
Speaking on the occasion, chairman of Hurriyat Conference (G) Syed Ali Shah Geelani dared mainstream parties to prove their representative character in absence of forces.
“Let forces be withdrawn and then we will see who represents the people. You should be ashamed that counter insurgents who killed hundreds of innocents here were also made legislators,” he said. Ruling out division of Jammu and Kashmir on religious lines, Geelani demanded right to self determination for the people of all regions.
“It is not a border dispute but an issue concerning future of one crore 30 lakh residents. We demand that people of all parts, whether it is Gilgit, Ladakh, Jammu or Pakistan administered Kashmir should be given right to decide their fate,” he said.
Geelani said New Delhi has betrayed Kashmiris by not fulfilling the promises made with them in the past 64 years at the national and international level.
“United Nations Security Council has passed 18 resolutions on Kashmir after India took the case to it. On August 7, 1952 Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru also promised that Kashmiris would be given right to decide their future,” he said.
The pro-freedom leader said that praising of chief minister Omar Abdullah by Union Home Minister was ‘shameful.’
“Chidambaram last year said that Kashmir issue is all about broken promises. Rather than fulfilling these promises, he is now praising Omar Abdullah for imprisoning Kashmiris,” he said, adding that India has blocked road to peace in JK.
Castigating panels instituted by New Delhi based political parties and think tanks, the pro-freedom leader said that this is just time consuming process.
“There is no fun of holding these conferences here as over past 64 years Kashmiris have apprised the world what they want by rendering six lakh sacrifices,” he said.

GHULAM HASSAN MIR:
Stressing on unity among political parties, agriculture minister Ghulam Hassan Mir  said road to peace in Kashmir would come from its people.
Mir said convergence of different voices in Kashmir would pave the way for the resolution of dispute.
Referring to house detention of Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mir said: “Why we are blaming New Delhi for everything. It is our problem, if there is fault of state government or administrative deficit, why blame them?”
Asking youth to excel in education, Mir said, “Blood laid by Kashmiris should not go waste and should be utilized for prosperity.”
“The concept of political freedom is incomplete without economic freedom,” he added.

ER RASHID:
Member Assembly from Langate, Er. Rashid, said that Kashmir is neither integral part nor jugular vein of any country.
Rashid said that New Delhi doesn’t have permanent policy on Kashmir and is shifting its stand continuously over the issue.
“In morning they say Kashmir is dispute, in afternoon they claim it is their integral part and in evening they say Pakistan is doing everything here,” he said, asking New Delhi to stop befooling Kashmiris.
“If New Delhi is sincere in resolving Kashmir issue, then they should accept that Kashmiris have given sacrifices for right to self determination. If they have their own compulsions, they should tell us what they can give,” he added.
Calling for involvement of United Jihad Council in talks, Rashid said that no solution can be achieved without the involvement of militant leadership.
“If they can talk to armed leadership of Nagas and Akalis, why they cannot do same with Kashmiri armed leadership,” he said.
Castigating New Delhi for human rights violations in Kashmir, Rashid said, “If Indians are demanding death sentence to Afzal Guru, why don’t they demand same punishment for the killers of Kashmiris.”

NAYEEM AHMED KHAN:
Chairman of Jammu and Kashmir National Front, Nayeem Ahmed Khan, said term ‘peace’ has been abused in Jammu and Kashmir. “For New Delhi peace means silencing the voice of dissent. Peace is condition or a situation which is generated by resolving the conflicts. It cannot be imposed from outside, it has to come from within and that is possible when you listen to the voice of people,” he said.
Khan said: “This uneasy calm or the lull on ground is deceptive. If the people ‘s anger is not redressed forthwith, it can burst anytime by the slightest trigger.” 
“After holding of Panchayat elections, New Delhi is beating drums as if people of Kashmir have put their seal of approval on India’s rule. Have they forgotten that Kashmir erupted after holding of 2008 elections,” he added.
Khan said that Kashmiri leadership was not against talks but New Delhi has to create conducive atmosphere for it.
“It is imperative upon them to release all detainees, repeal draconian laws and withdraw FIRs lodged against Kashmiri youth,” he demanded.

MUHAMMAD MUZAFFAR PARRAY:
Terming Syed Ali Shah Geelani as a visionary leader, senior Congress leader Muhammad Muzaffar Parray said that peaceful negotiations would lead to the resolution of Kashmir dispute.
Asking separatists to forge unity, he said that if “Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Yasin Malik would talk in one voice to New Delhi, then it can have more weightage.”

JAVAID AHMED MIR:
Senior vice-chairman of Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (R) said that India is responding to the peaceful movement of Kashmiris with bullets.
Urging India and Pakistan to resolve Kashmir issue, Mir said that Kashmiris have given sacrifices only for freedom.
Mir said that mainstream parties have made Kashmir issue roadmap for getting power.
“They are least bothered about its resolution and have made it a tool for exploitation,” he said.

MOULANA ABDULLAH TARI:
Senior leader of Democratic Freedom Party, Moulana Abdullah Tari, said tripartite talks is the only way forward.
“We have seen for the past six decades that bilateral dialogue has lead to nowhere and only talks between India, Pakistan and genuine Kashmiri leadership would pave way for resolution,” he said.
Among others, Director of Centre for Policy Analysis, Seema Mustafa, Muhammad Saleem, CPI politburo member, Shahid Siddiqui (Rashtriya Lok Dal), Arjun Roy (Janta Dal), Aziz Pasha (CPI-M) also spoke on the occasion.

‘INTERLOCUTORS’ A NON SERIOUS EFFORT’
Meanwhile, questioning the appointment of Interlocutors by New Delhi, Communist Party of India (Marxist) politburo member Muhammed Saleem Saturday said the resolution of Kashmir issue needs a political structured dialogue.
“The appointment of non-political interlocutors is a non-serious effort by New Delhi. The resolution of Kashmir needs sincere dialogue at the political level,” he said addressing a news conference at a local hotel here.
Terming Kashmir as a dispute, the Left leader said that “solution of the Kashmir issue can be found only through talks and gun would lead us nowhere.”
“Kashmir is a multi-dimensional problem and needs multi-pronged strategy for the resolution. There are varied voices like autonomy, Self-Rule and Azadi in Kashmir,” he said.
He added that Kashmir has internal, external and geopolitical dimensions.
“On one side, there are different regions and then there is India and Pakistan. At international level there are global players,” he said. Rashtriya Lok Dal MP Shahid Siddqui said that Kashmiris view India through its gun-totting soldiers deployed here.
“There is wide gap between Kashmiris and Indians and it needs to be narrowed .We don’t know each other’s real situation .The main motive of the CPA program is to remove the misconceptions nurtured about Kashmir in India,” he said.
The MP said it was unfortunate that India forgets about the resolution of Kashmir, when there is calm here.
“We ignore Kashmir and put it on the backburner during peace here. But when the situation gets out of hand, then we start talking of finding solution,” he said.
He said Kashmir issue is all about broken promises and commitments made with the people here from time to time.
“People of Kashmir, India and Pakistan have to work together to find solution which would be acceptable to all parties. Finding such a solution it is difficult, but not impossible,” he said.
Speaking on the occasion, Director CPA Seema Mustafa said that during today’s meet there was commonality among speakers on four points.
“We found that there was consensus on united and democratic struggle for resolution of Kashmir, release of political detainees, withdrawal of controversial laws and justice to the victims of human rights violations,” she said.

Lastupdate on : Sat, 30 Jul 2011 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Sat, 30 Jul 2011 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Sun, 31 Jul 2011 00:00:00 IST