Mirwaiz again asks India to engage with Pakistan

Senior All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APPHC) leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has urged India to engage in a meaningful dialogue with Pakistan to resolve the decades-old Kashmir dispute in line with the aspirations of the Kashmiri people.

In a media interview, according to a Radio Pakistan report on Thursday, the Mirwaiz criticised the decision of the Narendra Modi government to abrogate Article 370 of the Indian constitution that led to demographic engineering, loss of identity, and disempowerment of the Kashmiris.

Mirwaiz Umar Farooq suggested that the release of political prisoners, restoration of safeguards to land and resources of Kashmir, and the India-Pakistan engagement were the key steps towards the resolution of the Kashmir dispute.

Meanwhile, the Jammu Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party (DFP) warned foreign diplomats against falling for India's attempts to legitimise its occupation of Jammu and Kashmir through the ongoing farcical elections, the report said.

A DFP spokesman termed India's move a ploy to mislead the international community and divert attention from the Kashmiri freedom movement. National Conference leader Omar Abdullah also slammed the Indian government's decision to host a "guided tour" for foreign diplomats, calling it an unnecessary and potentially biased attempt to validate the local election process.