February 02, 2007	Friday	Muharram 13, 1428

NEW DELHI, Feb 1: Hurriyet leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq called on the Indian army and armed militants fighting New Delhi’s rule in Kashmir to make room for a political solution of the dispute.

Addressing a massive rally in Srinagar that greeted his arrival from a nine-day visit to Pakistan, the Mirwaiz called upon India to start a `serious’ dialogue on President Gen Pervez Musharraf's proposals for a step-by-step approach to end the bloody confrontation in Kashmir.

The Hurriyet leader told Dawn from Srinagar that his two meetings with Gen Musharraf and with virtually all major political parties in Pakistan except the Jamaat-i-Islami had convinced him that a resolution of the Kashmir stalemate was possible only peacefully.

Referring to the grenade attack at the Hurriyet office in Srinagar late Wednesday night, he said: "It was the handiwork of elements that are against the peace process between India andPakistan. These attacks, which are aimed at scaring us, will do no good to the Kashmir issue."

The Mirwaiz said two of the proposals made by Gen Musharraf in his recent interviews to Indian correspondents could be implemented right away.

"Hurriyet Conference supports the dialogue process for resolution of Kashmir issue. There is a need for stage-wise progress in the process and the first step would be to withdraw all army and paramilitary troops from the state," he told the rally in Srinagar.

He said there should be a change in the human rights situation so that progress in the peace process and resolution of the Kashmir issue became perceptible among people.

"The world is moving towards a system where borders have become irrelevant. Kashmiris should have the right to travel across the Line of Control from either side without passports or any travel documents," he said.

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