Independent legislator from Langate constituency Er Abdul Rasheed on Wednesday said he was willing to meet Jamat-u-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed or Shiv Sena leader Udhav Thackeray for the resolution of Kashmir issue.
“I am ready to meet everyone be it Hafiz Saeed or Udhav Thackeray to resolve Kashmir issue because problem is ours and we are dying,” he told reporters outside the Assembly.
He said even if Saeed was not a stakeholder of Kashmir issue but “it appears his apparition is haunting India.”
“If he is sending militants here I will tell him to stop sending militants and come to the table for talks,” Rasheed said.
Rasheed also asked the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to discuss their position on Kashmir. On the appointment of the Government of India’s special representative Dineshwar Sharma for a dialogue on Kashmir, Rasheed said Sharma has been given a limited mandate and no effort has been made to create a conducive atmosphere for talks.
“Dineshwar Sharma is a noble soul. He cannot do anything because his mandate was confined to meeting patwaris and vendors,” he said. Rather, he added, Sharma should have been allowed to talk to mainstream parties and the Hurriyat.
Rasheed also asked BJP leaders to come out with concrete ideas and put them across the table.
“If arguments of Kashmiris seeking the right to self-determination are not logical then we will agree to BJP’s agenda,” he said. Earlier, MLA Langate took a jibe at the coalition government, saying said it has given a free hand to the police and worsened the situation.
“Our district commissioners in Kashmir are acting as ‘over ground workers’ for the SPs and other police officers,” he said.
He said government forces involved in human rights violations were getting perks from the government “which is the reason for growing alienation among the Kashmiri youth.” He also said the Assembly was losing relevance as people perceived the lawmakers as puppets resorting to dramatics inside the House.
Rasheed called for joint support from all political parties to form an all-party delegation and meet PM Narendra Modi in order to resolve Kashmir issue. “He (PM) has a huge mandate and he can help in solving the issue,” he said. Referring to political situation in Kashmir, Rasheed said nobody can guarantee peace even if Syed Ali Geelani was made Prime Minister and Syed Salahuddin, Yaseen Malik, Masrat Alam and Qasim Faktoo his cabinet colleagues.
“The killings will continue despite all efforts unless the root cause of the problem is not addressed,” he said. He said it was futile to blame Mehbooba Mufti or anybody else as the central government is hell bent on suppressing the aspirations and sentiments of masses by treating the dispute like a law and order issue.
“Pellets and bullets will continue to be showered on Kashmiris and militants will continue to come from Pakistan till the Kashmir issue is resolved,” he said. He told the House that rural development department minister Abdul Haq Khan couldn’t get back his own next door neighbour who allegedly disappeared in army custody from Kakerpatti area of his constituency.
“That is the situation in Kashmir and government claims that it is making efforts to bring peace,” he said. He said that the hearts of the Kashmiri people also wail for the security forces personnel killed in Kashmir.
“But it isn’t their fault as the government of India hasn’t solved the Kashmir issue.” He said a soldier or a fidayeen both are first sons to their mothers, rather than anything else.