Kashmir issue possible through dialogue: APHC

Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has said that the Kashmir dispute can only be resolved through dialogue.

SRINAGAR: Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, chairman of the All Parties Hurriyet Conference (APHC), has said that the Kashmir dispute can only be resolved through dialogue.

“No election, administrative changes or economic packages can be a substitute for the right to self-determination of the Kashmiri people,” the Mirwaiz told a news conference in Srinagar, according to the Kashmir Media Service.

He said Kashmiris were not averse to talks with India but before starting the dialogue process it should release Kashmiri political prisoners, withdraw its troops and revoke black laws in the disputed state. “New Delhi should understand the fact that it can’t hold Kashmir by force for long. It will be in India’s national interest to resolve the dispute once and for all,” he said.

The Mirwaiz said the ongoing protests in the disputed state against the killing of civilians in indiscriminate firing by Indian troops and police on peaceful protests were justified. “Peaceful protests will continue till Indian troops pull out from civilian areas,” he said.

The APHC chairman warned of harsher reaction from people if the troops and police continued to use force to quell peaceful protests, saying that Indian authorities would be responsible for the consequences. “Our youth are being killed by Indian troops and police with impunity. Eleven youths have been killed since June 11. This is a dangerous trend. We feel that Jammu and Kashmir has been converted into a police state, where there is complete lawlessness,” he said.

The Mirwaiz pointed out that execution of innocent Kashmiris was going on according to a conspiracy hatched by New Delhi to crush their peaceful movement. “Through brutal use of force, India will not succeed to suppress Kashmiris’ liberation struggle which is based on the principles of justice and international law,“ he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 5^th, 2010.