Srinagar, Jan 20: Firebrand NC additional general secretary Sheikh Mustafa Kamaal Sunday said the promise of holding referendum in Jammu and Kashmir made by the tallest leader of India late Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru was applicable to erstwhile J&K for which unification of two divided parts was a “prerequisite”.
Talking to reporters on the sidelines of a function at NC headquarters, Nawa-e-Subah complex here, Kamaal said NC General Secretary Sheikh Nazir has rightly made a statement that the promise made by Nehru in 1948 at Lal Chowk, Srinagar should be fulfilled. “The promise was made eight years before J&K’s constitution was enacted in 1956. So the option of holding referendum was very much relevant,” said Kamaal. “The first condition for holding plebiscite in J&K is to restore the state to pre-1947 status. For that, India and Pakistan have to demilitarize territories under them and allow the unification of two divided parts. The move should later be followed by the announcement of plebiscite.” He said as per the UN resolutions both, Pakistan and India have to demilitarize the parts of Kashmir under their control.
He said senior PDP leader Muzaffar Hussain Beig was technically right to say that NC leader’s demand for plebiscite was against the constitution of J&K. “But that doesn’t mean the option was no more alive. The constitution was enacted in 1956 only to run the state of affairs. The main question of division of State remained there and continues to be same at present,” Kamaal said.
Later talking to Greater Kashmir, Kamaal said let the unification of two Kashmirs take place on trial basis. “Let it be for 20 years. If it doesn’t go well, then other options can be explored,” he said. “But the fact of the matter is that State has to come to its original position as it existed on August 14, 1947.”
Earlier, addressing NC workers at Nawa-e-Subah, Kamaal said the unmarked graves are the result of “genocide” committed by PDP patron Mufti Muhammad Sayeed and the then Governor of JK, Jagmohan. “They massacred the people in 1990,” he said. Kamaal said it was good to see Hurriyat (M) chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq demanding DNA testing of those buried in unmarked graves.
“There has to be some mechanism to find-out who are buried in these graves,” the NC leader said. He urged the party workers to make party strong so that better results could be achieved in 2014. “Many forces are working in Kashmir to dismantle NC. Your job is to give befitting reply to them in 2014 elections. It is time to shun the differences and work as a single unit,” Kamaal said.

Lastupdate on : Sun, 20 Jan 2013 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Sun, 20 Jan 2013 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Mon, 21 Jan 2013 00:00:00 IST