Mirwaiz thanks Pakistan for unconditional support

ISLAMABAD: On the occasion of Kashmir Solidarity Day on Monday, Hurriyat forum Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who continues to be under illegal house arrest sent a message in which he’s expressed his gratitude to the people, government and leadership of Pakistan for their unconditional and unflinching support to the political movement of the people of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) for the right to self-determination.

According to Kashmir Media Service, Mirwaiz in his message conveyed that the people of AJK and the Hurriyat have always appreciated Pakistan’s support at all levels for the past seven decades, be it diplomatic political or moral, despite difficult and testing times for the country itself.

Mirwaiz said: “We appreciate the government of Pakistan and its leadership that has extended all possible support to our political movement for the resolution of Kashmir dispute.”

Mirwaiz also said, “the people of Kashmir have for a long time now been battling hardships and oppression. The people of Kashmir in order to relinquish their struggle are being targeted by bullets and pellets, resistance leadership, activists, human right groups, intellectuals, newspaper offices, civil society members, and traders are also being targeted and harassed for their association and sympathise with the people’s movement.”

In the past two years i.e. 2016 and 2017, after the popular mass uprising for the exercise of the right to self-determination, the suppression and reign of terror were let loose with all its notoriety on the population of Kashmir.

“In all this chaos, 618 Kashmiris, most of them youth were martyred and over 16,000 injured. 70% of them were injured by pellets at the hands of government forces. Putting the resistance leadership, including me, under house arrest or in police custody has been a routine for this period and it is very seldom that I am allowed to move out of my residence. Not only the political rights but religious rights of the people are being curtailed by the use of naked force. Whereas the historic Jama Masjid of Srinagar remained locked for most of the time in 2016, in 2017 it was locked for 18 Fridays and Friday namaz was not allowed there,” he said.

He said that in spite of all the suppression the ruthless rulers have not been able to break the will and commitment of the people towards the movement. The continued help and support extended by Pakistan in such difficult and trying circumstances has always strengthened the determination of the people to carry forward their just and legitimate peaceful political struggle.

Mirwaiz added that Pakistan, being one of the main parties to Kashmir dispute has always played a frontal role at both regional and international levels in highlighting the suffering of the Kashmiris as well as presenting the Kashmir dispute in its historical context.

He concluded by saying that it was his firm belief that the resolution of the Kashmir dispute lay in either the implementation of the United Nations’ resolutions and dialogue between New Delhi, Islamabad and Kashmiris.