MLA Langate Er Rasheed has appealed state legislatures to rise above their party interests and take bold initiatives for resolution of Kashmir dispute. In his speech today before conclusion of the ongoing session in the state Assembly, Er Rasheed asked Mehbooba Mufti to take initiatives to send MLAs of various political parties to PaK to initiate a dialogue with the elected representatives on that side of the LOC and in return invite the elected representatives of that part of Kashmir to this side for a meaningful dialogue. In a statement issued to KNS, Er Rasheed said, “While everybody claims that this House is the most powerful House after Indian parliament, but we should not forget that unless we don’t dare to tell spade a spade and give up double standards, honour and dignity of the Assembly will be always questionable. If India and Pakistan can talk in any part of the world about Kashmir, who stops state Assembly from discussing the fate of the people of the state, as we are the real victims of violence and only owners of the state.”
Er Rasheed said that even if Hurriyat leaders are supposed to take power in the state without resolving dispute, there would be more violence than we have been witnessing in regimes of Omar Abdullah, Mehbooba mufti or someone else. Responding to BJP’s state president’s indirect remarks Er Rasheed said that he is neither Pakistan’s agent nor India’s agent but is the agent of his people and that of his conscience. Er Rasheed invited BJP MLAs and others to his constituency and other parts of the Kashmir to discuss and exchange views on political aspirations of Kashmiris. Pointing to BJP members, Er Rasheed said, “I have no right to doubt your political wisdom but one fails to understand why are you afraid of talking even to kids and young men? Let you debate with those youngsters, whom you called stone palters and anti-nationals and either convenience them or get convinced. Kashmir can’t be controlled by AFSPA, PSA, threats, bullets and broken promises but the only way to resolve issues and ensure peace is doing justice to the people. Referring to Pampore attack, Er Rasheed expressed surprise that while everybody should be worried over loss of lives under all circumstances, but the House has brought its own credibility under clout of doubt by not doing justice to even a single Kashmiri who got killed at the hands of security forces. You can’t bring back the lives of martyrs of Handwara but you have defamed you own institutions by buying time and using the formula of might is right.” Er Rasheed added that Speaker and government have unfortunately tried to represent Delhi in Kashmir rather representing and protecting rights of people of state and added that this House has so for proved to be graveyard of sentiments, aspirations and rights of majority community of state. (KNS)