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Monday, April 23, 2012
Freezing Kashmir dispute won’t bring peace: Yasin Malik* JKLF chief says Kashmiris will be forced to revert to armed struggle if issue not resolved peacefully
LAHORE: Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) Chairman Yasin Malik said on Sunday “freezing” the Kashmir dispute was not acceptable to the people of Kashmir.
He was addressing a press conference along with Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) chief Syed Munawar Hasan at Mansoora. JI Azad Jammu and Kashmir chief Abdur Rashid Turabi was also present.
Malik said that since a dialogue had started between Pakistan and India, there was no mention of the Kashmir dispute and the people of Kashmir were feeling that the issue was being ignored.
He said governments of Pakistan and India should not hope for a lasting peace in the region until resolving this core issue. At present, he added, there was an ideal atmosphere for a dialogue and both the governments should try to find out a peaceful solution to the issue.
He said that initially, India had desired a peaceful atmosphere for beginning talks. “Accordingly, the Kashmiris gave up their armed struggle and started a peaceful struggle.” But, Malik, added that since the Kashmiris had given up their armed struggle and begun a peaceful movement, India had started their genocide in a bid to crush their freedom movement.
He said the Kashmiris were being arrested and put into torture cells. He warned that if India and Pakistan were unable to find a peaceful solution, the Kashmiris would be forced to begin their armed struggle again.
He said that the past Pakistani governments had been mentioning the Kashmir issue one way or the other but the present rulers in Islamabad were not even talking about the issue. The Kashmir Committee should also discharge its duty, he added.
The Kashmiri leader said that after the 9/11, the world community had decided to solve international issues through peaceful means. “The Kashmiris also took up this path by opting for a peaceful process. The international community should also discharge its responsibility and allow the Kashmiris their rights.”
Malik said that personally he was in favour of a sovereign Kashmir. However, he said, the Kashmiris should be allowed to decide whether they wanted to merge with Pakistan or India or they wanted a sovereign state.
Syed Munawar Hasan said that the Kashmir cause was not of the Kashmiris alone, adding that they were also fighting Pakistan's war.
“But the Pakistani government, political parties and even the media are ignoring the Kashmir issue. The Kashmir Committee has also failed to highlight the issue at the international level,” he said.
He said that the policy change on Kashmir by the Pervez Musharraf government had done great harm to the Kashmir cause, adding that current rulers were also toeing Musharraf's line.
He said that the Kashmir Committee was not independent and was only toeing the official line. online
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk