Mirwaiz to highlight last summer’s unrest in London
By IANSFriday, January 21, 2011
SRINAGAR - Moderate Hurriyat group chairman Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, who will attend a seminar on Kashmir in London, says he would refer to last summer’s unrest in the Valley at the Jan 25-26 event.
“I will highlight the denial of right of self-determination to the people of Kashmir and also refer to last summer’s unrest in the valley to project the transition of Kashmiris’ struggle from a violent to a non-violent movement here,” Mirwaiz told reporters.
The senior Kashmiri separatist leader said he would demand the inclusion of the people of Kashmir in the dialogue process between India and Pakistan.
“I will also reiterate that any talks between India and Pakistan would be futile without inclusion of the people of Kashmir in such a process,” he said.
He said that the central government appointed interlocutor Dileep Padgaonkar had called him Thursday and expressed his desire that the interlocutors would like to meet him.
“I told him that it was the stand of Kashmiri separatist leaders not to meet the interlocutors till the demands of withdrawal of troops, revocation of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act and release of political detainees are not met. These demands were put forth in 2006 and they still remain unfulfilled,” he said.
He said there was growing awareness and support from international organisations and countries on the need to resolve the Kashmir dispute in line with the aspirations of people here.
On the Bharatiya Janata Party’s plan to hoist the national flag at the historic Lal Chowk in Srinagar on Republic Day Jan 26, he said it was “BJP’s policy to try and divide the state into three regions”.
“But such designs would be resisted by the people of Jammu and Kashmir who regard both the India and Pakistan administered parts as also those under Chinese occupation as part of the state, whose final resolution is still pending,” he said.
Mirwaiz is leaving for London Friday.
The seminar titled “Asian powers in Kashmir: Pakistan, India and China” is being organised by the Royal United Services Institute, a British defence and security think-tank.
Over 100 people were killed in clashes between security forces and stone-pelting mobs in the summer of 2010 in the Kashmir Valley.
