SRINAGAR:
Pro freedom leaders in Indian held Kashmir are ‘disappointed’ with the Narendra Modi-Nawaz Sharif meeting on July 10, pointing at the omission of the Kashmir issue at the Ufa discussions.
According to the joint statement, the two leaders “agreed that India and Pakistan have a collective responsibility to ensure peace and promote development. To do so, they are prepared to discuss all outstanding issues”.
Syed Ali Geelani, a pro-Pakistan leader and Chairman of Tehreek-i-Hurriyat Jammu and Kashmir, rejected the Ufa statement and said Pakistan’s stand appeared to be “wavering” and “inconsistent” in recent times.
“First they [Pakistani leaders] say that Kashmir is the core dispute, but when they meet Indian leaders they do not even mention it. This is sheer inconsistency,” the octogenarian Kashmiri resistance leader told Dawn.com over phone.
Like Mr Geelani, moderate Hurriyat Conference leader Mirwaiz Maulvi Umar Farooq also asserts that Kashmir remains the core issue between India and Pakistan and that its resolution guarantees a lasting peace and prosperity in the South Asian region.