The shahi Imam of the Jama Masjid in the Walled city of Delhi has written a letter to Pakistani Prime Minster, Nawaz Sharif, urging him to take action and engage in dialogue between the militant leader and the Hurriyat leaders present in Kashmir to agree to a ceasefire.
Syed Ahmad Bukhari, the Imam, adopts the role of a pacifist and urges Prime Minister Nawaz to resolve the impending issue with dialogue. He warned and cautioned that the Kashmir issue can neither be solved through guns and stones nor through military expeditions.
“The Kashmir situation is becoming volatile day by day, resulting in an increase in tensions between the two countries (India and Pakistan) as days pass. I think that a larger delay in the creation of a favorable environment for peace shall make the settlement of the Kashmir issue more difficult,” Bukhari writes.
“Thousands of people are living under the shadow of AK- 47, a life besieged by bloodshed,” he said.
Bukhari also refuted statements made by the tenth Prime Minster of India, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, that “one can change friends but not neighbors”, by establishing that only through an environment of peace and dialogue can this long-trailing issue be resolved.
In a recent interview, the Imam declared that the way Muslims were being blamed in Kashmir was unjust. He even said that if the Indian government allowed him, he would willingly travel to Pakistan just to meet with the Prime Minister.
Bukhari concluded his letter by clearly appealing to Nawaz Sharif, “I request you to kindly persuade the militant youth and Hurriyat leaders to agree for a ceasefire through your good offices and influence.”
