Chairman of Hurriyat Conference (M) Mirwaiz Umar Farooq on Friday said that “Article 35A is an Article of faith” and it should not be breached.
Addressing the congregation at historic Jama Masjid in oldcity here Mirwaiz said, “The situation developing on ground over the past weekwith deployment thousands of additional forces and government orderscirculating have alarmed people and they have become apprehensive of somethingis going to happen.”
“Speculations are rife about the possibility of Article of35 A being revoked to change the demography of the state and its Muslimmajority character. For the past three years there has been a great pushtowards it. Many PILs have been filed in the Supreme Court to challenge it.Leadership and people have to be ready to resist every attempt to undo it,”Mirwaiz said, “Provision was negotiated by the regional electoral parties andit’s an Article of faith, which should not be breached.”
Mirwaiz said, “Such measures will not change the realitythat Kashmir is an issue and has to be resolved. Entire word is asking Indiaand Pakistan to resolve it and there are also offers to mediate. If theleadership of India and Pakistan are really concerned about their people theywill show statesmanship and agree to talk. Ultimately it’s only India Pakistanand the Kashmiris that can reach a lasting resolution.”
Mirwaiz said, “We have always strongly advocated dialogueamong stakeholders, a fact borne out by our sincere push for it andparticipation in dialogue 2004 onwards. We only believe in and have alwaysadvocated peaceful means of struggle for the resolution of the lingeringinternationally acknowledged Kashmir conflict in which lakhs of human lives havebeen lost so far.”