All Parties Hurriyat Conference leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani has challenged Indian leaders to hold referendum in Indian-held Jammu Kashmir if they are confident and sure about their claim that the disputed territory is ‘integral part of India.’
In a statement, he strongly criticised India’s Minister for Home Affairs Rajnath Singh, and other ruling party leaders for their statements on the Kashmir issue, saying that their narratives reflected negative and egoistic approach.
Geelani said that the Kashmir was a serious dispute and could not be resolved through rhetoric or provocative statements. “BJP leaders’ narratives about Jammu Kashmir illustrate their negative and egoistic approach,” he said.
“Kashmir is ours, Kashmiris are ours and Kashmiriyat is also ours,” Rajnath said on Sunday, asserting that the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi will find a ‘permanent solution’ to the Kashmir problem. Unrest has continued in the disputed region since the last year.
There has been an unprecedented involvement of students in the protests, with even girls taking to the streets to fight pitched battles with the Indian armed forces. More than 100 people have lost their lives in the current movement for the national independence.
Geelani also said the International Court of Justice should take suo-moto action against Indian Army’s Major Leetul Gogoi, who had tied Kashmiri citizen Farooq Ahmad Dar to a jeep in the disputed state as a human shield against stone pelters. He termed the ‘honouring’ of Gogoi by the army as an extremely distressing and shameful act.
“It (honouring the major) is extremely distressing and a shameful act. Honouring such an officer clearly vindicates our claim that this is a state-sponsored policy and if not stopped, it will prove detrimental for human lives,” Geelani said in a statement here.
He linked the human shield controversy to that of the Kulbhushan Jadhav issue and said the International Court of Justice (ICJ) should intervene and punish erring officer. Geelani also hit out at politicians for favouring Major Gogoi and their misinterpretation of the gruesome incident.
“It is ridiculous to award the said officer for the insensitive human shield incident. It is not an exemplary act. How did he save human lives? The youth was arrested in Beerwa when the situation was quite peaceful and normal. “It is a fabricated story and a lame excuse to save the erring official,” he said.
