Hurriyat’s plea for ‘free hand’: We want ‘United States of Kashmir’: Mirwaiz
By Shamim ur Rahman
KARACHI, June 10: The All Parties Hurriyat Conference says the time has come for the Kashmiri leadership to take the centre-stage and have a free hand in seeking a solution of the Kashmir issue as the people of the territory are the principal stakeholders and cannot wait for India and Pakistan to take their own decisions.
The Hurriyat’s viewpoint was forcefully presented in Karachi on Friday by its chairman Mirwaiz Omar Farooq at a symposium, attended by all the Kashmiri leaders currently on a historic visit to Pakistan.
The ‘Symposium on Kashmir: looking towards the future’ was organized by the publishers of the Dawn Group of newspapers in collaboration with the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, the Pakistan Peace Coalition and the Islamabad Council for World Affairs. A second symposium on the theme will be held in Islamabad on Sunday.
“We desire to be citizens of the United States of Kashmir and we desire India and Pakistan to give a free hand to the Kashmiri leadership to come up with new proposals,” said the Mirwaiz, adding that the APHC had decided to take the initiative.
“I don’t want to take the bus 20 years down the line, I want to fly to New Delhi, Islamabad or Tashkent,” he said clearly hinting at the future status of Kashmir.
“We want to move beyond the traditional line,” he said, adding that “conversion of the LoC into a permanent border or the status quo was not acceptable. Apart from these two, we are ready to explore other options. Decisions should not be imposed from New Delhi or Islamabad.”
He was of the view that since India was not ready for tripartite negotiations, a way out could be triangular talks — between Kashmiris and Pakistan, between Kashmiris and India and between Pakistan and India.
Expressing concern over the failure of the United Nations, the OIC and the international community in addressing the Kashmir issue and mitigating the agony of the people of Kashmir, the Mirwaiz declared: “We should forget about the international community and the people of Kashmir should choose their own course”.
He said that the APHC supported the peace process and added that the “people of Kashmir were never in favour of a violent course, the situation was imposed on us”.
Despite supporting the peace process, the Mirwaiz said he couldn’t see any light at the end of the tunnel for the time being, and added that their being in Pakistan did not mean that there was a complete unanimity of views on the issue.
He called upon all segments of the Kashmiris to “come on board”.
Mr Yasin Malik said that people who had started the revolution declared in 1994 a unilateral ceasefire. But nobody understood the significance of the peace overture. Many Kashmiris were killed in the process.
Mr Malik said it was not for New Delhi or Islamabad to represent the people of Kashmir or to decide who was their leader and stressed that the Kashmiris should be included in the dialogue process as equal partners. He expressed readiness to demonstrate flexibility. He underlined the importance of media’s role in pushing the peace process forward and securing for the Kashmiri people their just rights.
Mr Abdul Ghani Bhatt dilated on the sacrifices of the Kashmiri people over the years and stressed that resolution of the Kashmir issue was essential for durable peace.
He said that sensitivities of India and Pakistan had to be taken into consideration in resolving the issue, but added that neither India nor Pakistan could move ahead unless they took the Kashmiris into confidence and engaged them as equal partners in the dialogue process.
Maulana Abbas Ansari and Bilal Ghani Lone also spoke and highlighted the supreme sacrifice the Kashmiri people had rendered over the years and called upon the Kashmiri leadership to take its won decisions.
Former foreign minister Agha Shahi who heads the Islamabad Council for World Affairs, one of the sponsors of the symposium, reassured the APHC delegation of Pakistan’s continued principled stand. He, however, stressed that Pakistan should not be equated with India.
Mr Shahi said that whatever ideas the APHC would present would require evaluation by Pakistan, keeping in view its own national interests.
Mr B.M.Kutty, of the Pakistan Peace Coalition, said the presence of the APHC delegation had raised hopes about possibilities of new avenues opening up for a solution of the longstanding Kashmir issue.
KARACHI, June 10: The All Parties Hurriyat Conference says the time has come for the Kashmiri leadership to take the centre-stage and have a free hand in seeking a solution of the Kashmir issue as the people of the territory are the principal stakeholders and cannot wait for India and Pakistan to take their own decisions.
