Hurriyat Conference (M) chairman, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq on Friday said that Kashmir is witnessing an all-time increase in ‘oppression and human rights abuse’ with the killing of civilians and armed youth as policymakers in New Delhi seeking a military solution to the seven-decade-old festering dispute, giving a free hand to forces.Addressing the Friday congregation at historic Jamia Masjid, Mirwaiz as per statement issued to KNO said lakhs of forces are present in every nook and corner of the valley perpetrating this policy the result of which is massacres and mayhem, the most recent being the brutal massacre of seven civilians in Pulwama killed in target fire by the trigger-happy forces. “These massacres are then legitimized by probes that state that the killed were not innocent civilians but terrorist supporters meaning they deserved to be killed and there is no need to feel guilty!,” he said.
Mirwaiz said “such brutality and desensitization is unbelievable especially from those who themselves have experienced subjugation at the hands of colonial powers.” Referring to a report by a media outlet, which said that ‘the recent J&K local body polls has thrown up a grim picture as the voter turnout was poor and abysmal in most areas while candidates were either elected unopposed or stayed away from it’, Mirwaiz said that GOI can no longer hoodwink people or the world by taking recourse for to these measures to show that all is well.“People of Kashmir are fed up of the lingering dispute and want a resolution to it not the continuation of status quo through these measures,” he said.
Mirwaiz said that the belief of those at the helm in New Delhi that Kashmir struggle can be muzzled by military might and oppression is a total misunderstanding of the situation in Kashmir and the history of people’s struggle.“Those in Delhi who blame resistance leadership for their own mishandling of the situation should accept that with each brutal killing resentment and anger against Govt of India naturally grows and will not lessen, as does the resolve of people to give stiff resistance to oppression,” he said. Mirwaiz said many Indian and Pakistani Army Generals have made candid statements that there can be no military solution to the Kashmir dispute, which is essentially political and that a political process of dialogue and deliberations between all stakeholders was the only course. He said Hurriyat Conference, from day one, has been stating that Kashmir was a political and a human issue which can only be resolved by such means and sustained dialogue with all the stakeholders most importantly including Kashmiris was the way to its resolution.Mirwaiz suggested that before the anger of people of Kashmir takes an ugly turn, GOI should accept the gravity of the situation on ground in Kashmir and start a process of conflict resolution by giving the people the Right to self-determination or meaningful dialogue. “Booking resistance leaders in false and fabricated cases by the NIA and ED can neither break resolve of the pro-freedom camp nor the people of Kashmir,” he said.Meanwhile, Hurriyat and the AAC leaders staged a peaceful demonstration against the civilian killings in Pulwama and the mass arrests of resistance leadership outside Jamia Masjid after Friday prayers. The protestors strongly condemned the civilian killings and the caging of pro-freedom leaders.(KNO)