Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front Chairman Yaseen Malik has said freezing Kashmir dispute is not acceptable to the Kashmiris
He was addressing a joint press conference with the Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Munawar Hasan, at Mansoora, after a detailed meeting with him on Sunday.
Hasan told the reporters on the occasion that the Kashmir cause was not of the Kashmiris’ alone. They were fighting Pakistan’s war but the Pakistan government, political parties and even the media were ignoring the Kashmir issue while the Kashmir Committee had also failed to highlight the issue at international level.
The JI Azad Jammu and Kashmir chief, Abdur Rashid Turabi, and other JI leaders were also present on the occasion.
Malik said ever since dialogue had started between Pakistan and India, there was no mention of the Kashmir dispute and the Kashmiris had the impression that the issue was being frozen. However, he said the governments of Pakistan and India should not hope for a lasting peace in the region without the solution of the core issue.
He said initially, India had desired a peaceful atmosphere for beginning talks. Accordingly, the Kashmiris gave up their armed struggle and started a peaceful struggle.
He said at present, there was an ideal atmosphere for dialogue and both the governments should try to find out a peaceful solution to the issue.
Malik, however, said since the Kashmiris had given up armed struggle and had begun a peaceful movement, India had begun their genocide in a bid to crush their movement.
The Kashmiris they were being arrested and thrown into torture cells. He warned that if Indian and Pakistan were unable to find a peaceful solution, the Kashmiris would be forced to begin armed struggle again.
He said the past Pakistani governments had been mentioning of the Kashmir issue one way or the other but the present rulers in Islamabad were not even talking of the Kashmir issue. The Kashmir Committee should also discharge its duty. The Kashmiris leader said after the 9/11, the world community had decided to solve the international issue through peaceful means. The Kashmiris also took up this path by opting for the peaceful process. The international community should also discharge its responsibility and allow the Kashmiris their rights.
Malik said personally, he was in favour of a sovereign Kashmir. However, he said, the Kashmiris should be allowed to decide whether they wanted to join Pakistan or India or have a sovereign state.
Hasan, said the Kashmiris were trying to protect Pakistan’s life line. He appealed to the political parties, the media, the Kashmir Committee and the government to focus on the Kashmir issue once again so that the Kashmiris got courage and their movement gained strength again.
He said, the policy change on Kashmir by the Pervez Musharraf government had done great harm to the Kashmir cause while the present elected rulers were also toeing Musharraf’s line. He said Kashmir Committee was not independent.
