The separatist Hurriyat Conference leaders on Thursday sought clarity on Government of India’s policy on Kashmir in the backdrop of unilateral ceasefire announcement on eve of the month of Ramzan. “What next,” asked Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, leader of his faction of Hurriyat Conference during a seminar here.

“Is it going to be the same situation again after the end of the holy month? Will the people be again subjected to inhuman treatment at the hands of government forces,” he asked.

Barring Syed Ali Geelani, who was held under house-detention, most of the separatist leaders assembled at Hurriyat’s Rajbagh headquarters, a rare opportunity permitted by the authorities. The seminar was held in connection with the weeklong events to commemorate the anniversary of two Hurriyat leaders Mirwaiz Farooq and Abdul gani Lone who were assassinated by suspected militants in 1990 and 2002 respectively.

“They (government) have announced ceasefire for one month. We are asking what next,” Mirwaiz said. “What is the road-map?”

He said the resilience of people, especially in south Kashmir, has frustrated the government’s designs to kneel the people to submission.

He said the situation in Kashmir would not show signs of improvement until the basic political dispute of Kashmir is not addressed according to the aspirations of the people. “India, Pakistan and people of Jammu and Kashmir are the stakeholders of this dispute and they have to get united for an amicable solution,” Mirwiaz said. “This (initiation of negotiations) will automatically open ways to move forward,” he said adding that the solution lies in adherence to the international commitments or initiation of tripartite talks.

Speaking on the occasion JKLF leader Yasin Malik said that people of Kashmir exhausted all political ways for the resolution but they did not succeed. “This is the reason that youngsters have again taken up arms and challenged the hegemonic and authoritarian government,” he said.

Malik was later taken into custody by police to prevent protests on eve of Prime Minister narendra Modi’s arrival in Kashmir on May 19. The Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL) has called for a peaceful protests against PM’s arrival on Saturday.

Talking to The Pioneer former Hurriyat chairman Prof Abdul Ghani Bhat said that he was confident that the parties involved in Kashmir dispute would sooner realize the importance of dialogue process.

“The south Asian region badly requires conflict resolution initiatives to save the lives of common people who are suffering immensely due to unresolved conflicts,” he said.

Courtesy: Pioneer: Friday, 18 May 2018 | Khursheed Wani | Srinagar