NEW DELHI, April 18: Hardline Kashmir resistance leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani on Monday said the joint statement issued by India and Pakistan at the end of the three-day visit here by President Gen Pervez Musharraf did not contain any concrete proposal to resolve the Kashmir issue nor did it provide any relief to the sufferings of Kashmiris.

“The joint declaration has failed to provide any sort of relief to the suffering Kashmiris, who are facing the worst kind of state terrorism,” Mr Geelani was quoted by the Press Trust of India as saying in Srinagar.

“Kashmiris should have been given some relief at this juncture when claims of headway to resolve the 57-year-old issue are being made by India and Pakistan,” he said reacting to the joint statement read out by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the presence of Pakistan President Gen Pervez Musharraf.

“At least announcements should have been made about release of political prisoners and revoking of the Disturbed Areas Act, Public Safety Act and other laws,” the statement said.

“How can common Kashmiris treat the ongoing dialogue between India and Pakistan as peace process in the absence of any such step?” asked Mr Geelani.

Saying that the joint declaration made no mention of any concrete proposal to solve the Kashmir problem, he asked how many decades were required to arrive at the final settlement of the issue.

“Though our ongoing stru-ggle has nothing to do with terrorism, our youth took to arms after all democratic ways failed to achieve their right (to self-determination),” the Press Trust of India quoted Mr Geelani as saying.