ISLAMABAD: Amidst the current sham polls in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), senior All Parties Hurriyat Conference leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has stressed the need for meaningful talks to address the Kashmir issue.
In an interview with an Indian newspaper, The Hindu, he stressed that polls cannot replace the resolution process and that the Hurriyat will always support engagement with the discussions on Kashmir.
He questions whether New Delhi can withdraw from previous bilateral agreements with Pakistan on issue of Kashmir.
Mirwaiz also addressed India’s claim that the Hurriyat no longer exists in Occupied Kashmir, saying that the organization represents the sentiment and will of the people. All senior Hurriyat leaders arrested under the UAPA in 2017. He strongly condemned this act of Indian government.
“In another round of detentions prior to 2019, scores of Hurriyat leaders and activists were arrested and incarcerated. In August 2019, the crackdown had intensified and lower rung members were also arrested and I was put under house detention. Till date all of them are in prisons. Most of the Hurriyat constituents were barred under the UAPA and continue to be so. But the sentiment on the ground remains exactly the same as it was prior to 2019. People not sentiment can be caged. And as long as the sentiment exists Hurriyat exists.”
“As we speak, thousands of youths remain in prisons, leadership is behind bars, local people are dismissed from government service, people’s land and properties are destroyed on government orders. Also, land, jobs and our resources have been given to outsiders. There is a complete clampdown on local press and freedom of expression,” he said.
He also emphasized that peace cannot be enforced but obtained with the consent of the people. He urged the world powers involved to view Kashmir as a humanitarian issue, seeking a peaceful and dignified approach towards the region.
He rejected the Modi regime’s claims of improved situation in Occupied Kashmir, citing crackdown on press, freedom of expression and people’s silence due to fear.
