ISLAMABAD: The Chairman of Hurriyat forum, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq in Indian occupied Kashmir has said that by largely staying away from the election drama, the people of Kashmir have peacefully conveyed that they want a serious political initiative which shall lead to the resolution of the vexed Kashmir dispute.
According to Kashmir Media Service, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq in a statement said that the Kashmiri people and the Hurriyat leadership would support all initiatives that were aimed at addressing the lingering dispute.
He maintained that the Kashmir dispute has been a bone of contention between Pakistan and Indian for the past over 71 years but all the successive governments in India had so far failed to resolve it.
He said, the people of Kashmir are facing tremendous hardships for the past seven decades in general and 30 years in particular, hoping that some serious efforts would be made to resolve the issue so that peace prevails in the region.
The Mirwaiz expressed serious concern over the government of India’s decision to suspend cross-LoC trade with Pakistan.
He said that India’s repressive measures were increasing to suppress the Kashmiris’ ongoing freedom and cited the closure of Srinagar-Jammu Highway for two days a week, frequent internet bans, warnings to government employees and a crackdown on political and religious organizations.
Every other day, people from different segments of the society are being issued summons by the Indian investigating agencies, he said, adding, that the government of India has to, at the end of the day, talk to Pakistan and Kashmiris to settle the Kashmir dispute once for all.