Asif Iqbal Naik
KISHTWAR
Launching scathing attack on right wing activists and ruling BJP over raising questions on the credibility of the on-going Kashmir uprising, Imam Jamia Masjid Kishtwar Farooq Ahmed Kichloo on Friday said that the on-going mass movement in Jammu and Kashmir can’t be looked through the prism of communalism.
During his Friday sermon, Kichloo said, “Kashmir issue and the current crisis is not a fight between Hindus and Muslims.”
He laid stress on government of India to solve the Kashmir issue as per the aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
“The people of Kishtwar reserve the right to call for shutdown and hold protest in support of the people of Kashmir where several people lost their lives while thousands got injured in forces action on peaceful and unarmed protesters,” he said.
He said that some forces in India are “trying to create wedge” in Jammu and Kashmir by linking the on-going Kashmir struggle between Hindus and Muslims “with an aim to weaken the peaceful struggle in Kashmir”.
“It is former Prime Minister of India Jawahar Lal Nehru who took the Kashmir issue to United Nations,” he said.
He slammed senior Peoples Democratic Party MP Muzaffar Hussain Baig for his comment on Madrassas.
“The statement of Baig is condemnable,” he added.
Reiterating his demand that the order of handing over of licensed weapons to Police Stations concerned be withdran, Kichloo said, “the order puts the lives of Gujjar and Bakarwal community members presently grazing their animals at higher altitude at risk.”
He said that the Village Defence Committees (VDCs) and Dokh Defence Committees are threat to long lasting peace and tranquillity in the area and demanded that VDCs and DDCs should immediately be disbanded to restore the confidence of the people.
He also took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for raking up the issue of Balochistan instead of speaking on the issue of civilian killings in Kashmir.
“Prime Minister of India instead of poking into the issues related to neighbouring countries should act wisely to initiate measures towards resolution of Kashmir dispute,” he said while seeking ban on the use of pellet guns and force against the unarmed people of Kashmir who are fighting for the cause of Right to Self Determination.
