ISLAMABAD, Jan 24: Chairman of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has been receiving threatening messages from the militant Kashmiri groups since his call for giving up armed struggle for fruitful negotiations with India over the Kashmir dispute.
The APHC chairman, who is currently visiting Pakistan along with senior Kashmiri leaders Prof Abdul Ghani Bhat and Bilal Lone, has privately expressed concerns about the threats emanating from the Occupied Kashmir. The gist of the message is: he will be “sorted out” along with the members of his delegation on their return.
There was a grenade attack on Mirwaiz Farooq’s residence in Srinagar just ahead of his visit to Pakistan last week. He said at the time that people opposed to a peaceful resolution of the Kashmir problem were behind the attack and declared that he would not be dissuaded from undertaking the visit.
The Mirwaiz’s statement on the armed struggle has evoked scathing criticism from some Kashmiri militant groups who have accused him of taking a U-turn. Pakistan has steered clear of his statement so far.
On Monday the Foreign Office Spokesperson Tasnim Aslam evaded a question about whether Pakistan endorsed the Mirwaiz’s view that Kashmiris should give up armed struggle.
