- Mirwaiz says Kashmir to keep entire South Asian region on boil, can lead to a nuclear accident
All Parties Hurriyat Conference Chairman Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, who is under house arrest, has said that India knows whom to talk to resolve the Kashmir issue, but is deliberately avoiding it.
“India knows whom to talk to in Jammu Kashmir, but it is not a question of whom to talk to, but what to talk about,” he said in a telephonic interview. “They (Indians) know whom to talk to,” he said, adding that India knows it also has to talk to Pakistan, which is a party to the dispute because parts of the divided state are being administered by it.
“Ours is not just a political struggle, it is a human tragedy as well, with families and friends divided by the Line of Control and held hostage to the hostility between Pakistan and India. “No doubt the situation in Kashmir is serious. The people are fed up with the status quo, with its many uncertainties. They want it to end,” he said.
Mirwaiz said that the Kashmiri people have been living for decades in the midst of political conflict in the world’s most-densely militarised zone. “There is extreme repression at all levels and the people, especially the youngsters, will obviously react to it – even violently and radically sometimes,” he said.
“Kashmir is a political problem about the political sentiments and aspirations of the masses, including the youth. The moment New Delhi acknowledges it and decides to address it, the situation on the ground will automatically change,” he said.
“I can say that we still expect New Delhi to show itself as a real democracy that does not believe in holding a people against their will by its might,” he said while avoiding a question that in case India invites Hurriyat for a dialogue, will it accept the offer with or without conditions. He also avoided a question about a roadmap for the dialogue.
“We sincerely reciprocated to (then Indian prime minister) Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s outreach to us and to Pakistan, despite the risks involved, with the hope that there was a genuine desire on all sides to resolve the issue, keeping our aspirations and will in view. What happened then? We were left in the cold and people’s faith was shattered,” Mirwaiz explained.
“Kashmir’s political struggle has assumed a wide mass base since 2008, with young Kashmiris at the forefront. The situation is highly confrontational and deteriorating by the day, as the Indian government has taken a harsh stand against the Kashmiri people, while the people have hardened their resolve not to yield to coercion,” he also said.
To a question, the Hurriyat chairman said that Kashmiri youngsters were sometimes raising Chinese or Islamic State flags just to irritate India. “Our people are expressing outrage against the status quo in which they are trapped for the past 75 years, more so in the past 30 years,” he said.
They have been suffering as a consequence of this status quo and are protesting against it in whatever manner of expression is allowed to them – the students by protesting in the streets, and the masses in general by rejecting Indian political institutions. He also said that the local people see the militants trapped at encounter sites as liberators who would free them from oppression and were ready to sacrifice their lives to save them.
“It’s the fourth generation of youth in the streets today. The Kashmiri people will continue their political struggle and the conflict will keep the entire region on the boil, which could lead to a nuclear accident,” Mirwaiz said while answering about if India refuses to hold talks with Pakistan and the Hurriyat leadership.
