Mirwaiz slams Omar Abdullah for linking his movement to Maoists

SRINAGAR - Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, chairman of moderate faction of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), on Saturday rejected Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s statement there were “visible and invisible links” among the militants in the state, the Maoists, Left-leaning academicians and supporters, saying it is an unfortunate attempt to malign the ‘indigenous movement’.

“We reject the statement of the Government of India and especially, that of the Chief Minister. It is an unfortunate attempt to malign the indigenous movement of people of Jammu and Kashmir by linking it to outside forces. Our movement is indigenous involving the sentiments and emotions of the people of Kashmir,” Farooq told reporters here today.

“I will not be surprised if Omar in near future says that the boys, who were protesting over the summer, had links with al-Qaeda,” he added.

Mirwaiz’s reaction comes a day after Abdullah said there are efforts made to build a bridge between Maoist insurgency in interior regions of India with militants of Kashmir and radical students in the State.

“We have no experience with Maoist insurgency even though of late we find efforts being made to build bridges between the Maoists and Naxalites of the rest of India with militants of Kashmir and also some Left-thinking academicians and students in Jammu region as well,” said Abdullah on Friday mainitaing that that not only were there visible links, but also several covert connections between the two.

“We have seen evidence of it (of bridges being built between Maoists and insurgents in Kashmir). A lot more effort to build a sort of interaction. A lot of movement of known Maoist sympathisers now travelling to Srinagar and organising seminars and conferences with supporters of militant violence in Jammu and Kashmir as well,” he added, while speaking at a seminar in New Delhi. (ANI)