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SRINAGAR: A prominent pro-independence leader in Indian Kashmir on Saturday condemned the killing of Moammar Qadhafi, saying the fallen Libyan dictator had been a “friend” and supporter of Kashmiris.
“In his death, the people of Kashmir have lost their friend,” Yasin Malik, chairman of the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), said in a statement.
A marathon United Nations diatribe by Qadhafi in September 2009 annoyed India but won him an enthusiastic fan base in Indian-administered Kashmir.
Qadhafi berated Western powers for an hour and 35 minutes from the General Assembly podium in a speech covering issues as diverse as John F. Kennedy's assassination, swine flu and his support for Kashmiri independence.
“Kashmir should be an independent state, not Indian, not Pakistani. We should end this conflict,” Qadhafi told the UN assembly.
His remarks were splashed across the front pages of Kashmir's leading dailies, as the region's separatist leaders applauded.
Malik's JKLF wants to break Kashmir away from both India and Pakistan, which each hold part of the region but claim it in full, and make it an independent state.
“Although he was a dictator, he was a brave human being. He raised his voice in the UN and other international forums for the freedom and independence of Kashmir,” Malik said.
Malik condemned the “inhuman custodial killing” on Thursday of the Libyan dictator.
“Whether it is Qadhafi or anyone else, custodial killing of a human being is an act of terrorism and if world community approves or glamorises such acts, real peace in the world would be a far-fetched dream,” he said.
“Such acts would only promote hatred, enmity and instability in the world.”
