Kashmir issue is a “legacy of history” and it has to be resolved politically, the Hurriyat Conference (M) chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said on Friday.
Addressing a public gathering at historic Jamia Masjid a dayafter he returned to Srinagar after facing three-day questioning at theNational Investigation Agency headquarters in New Delhi, the Mirwaiz said thathe told the probe agency’s sleuths that Kashmir issue is a “harsh politicalreality and it has to be resolved politically”.
“I told the NIA team that it’s our policy and stand thatKashmir issue has to be resolved by India, Pakistan and the people of Kashmir,”Mirwaiz, who is also Kashmir’s chief cleric, said.
He said he is not among those “who speak in different tunesin Delhi, Srinagar and Jammu”.
“Threats, intimidations and coercion can’t force us tochange our stand on Kashmir. We represent aspirations, feelings and emotions ofthe people of Kashmir,” he said. “Whether elections are held in India, Pakistanor Kashmir, the basic nature of the Kashmir dispute will remain the same tillthis issue is not resolved politically”.
The Hurriyat chairman alleged that many ploys were adoptedto “build pressure on the leadership and force them into submission”.
“My house was raided and then I was sent notices one afterthe other,” he said.
Mirwaiz said a “collective decision was taken and all of us(Hurriyat leaders) decided to fly to Delhi to face the NIA”.
“A misinformation campaign was launched by Delhi media thatI wasn’t cooperating with the probe agency,” Mirwaiz said.
“During the NIA questioning”, Mirwaiz said, “I was askedabout various organisations which I head, including AnjumanAuqafJamia,AnjumanNusrat-ul-Islam, DarulKhair, Hurriyat (M) and Awami Action Committee,details of which they had seized during the raid, as well recommendations forKashmiris for visas to Pakistan and recommendations to medical colleges inPakistan, about which I apprised them”.
Mirwaiz said his life and the Hurriyat’s stand are “an openbook and there is nothing to hide”.
Mirwaiz said that every citizen of India must realise thatthere is no military solution to the Kashmir issue, “which is purely politicaland needs a political solution”.
“Our stand is not something new. It has been same whichMirwaizMoulana Muhammad Yousuf Shah (RA) advocated for Kashmir in 1947 and whatmy late father MirwaizMoulana Muhammad Farooq floated in a public rally inSrinagar—tripartite dialogue,” he said.
He said the pulpit of Jamia Masjid will continue tohighlight people’s aspirations and issues in the same manner as it has beendoing since 1947.
“Our strength is the people of Kashmir. The Kashmir movementis a people’s movement and it’s not about any organisation, individual orgroup. I represent people’s aspirations,” he said. “Kashmir issue is a legacyof history and its historical perspective cannot be ignored”.
“It is unfortunate that not only the people of Kashmir, butarmed forces of both India and Pakistan are getting consumed in this conflict,”he said.
“Wasn’t it the Hurriyat that not only strongly advocated adialogue between India and Pakistan but also engaged itself in talks with boththe countries,” Mirwaiz said, recalling that the Hurriyat had even “suggestedsome confidence building measures (CBMs) to the government of India, but there was no forward movement”.
Mirwaiz also strongly condemned the killing of a class 7student at Handwara due to pellets on Thursday, stating that “lethal pelletscontinue to kill Kashmiri youth”.
“How unfortunate it is that despite a United Nations reportand the European Union strongly condemning use of pellet guns in Kashmir,forces continue to use pellets to kill Kashmiris,” he said. “We haven’tforgotten the scars of 2016 in which many people were killed by pellet guns andhundreds rendered blind”.
The Hurriyat chairman also termed the national highwayclosure for two days a week “an autocratic move”, stating that ban on civilianvehicles has caused “huge inconvenience to people who have already been pushedto the wall”.