KL Report
SRINAGAR
Calling Yatris as the welcomed guests, Hurriyat Conference Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has rejected the claims of the authorities that there was any threat to the Amarnath pilgrimage this year.
As per a statement MIrwaiz has said, “The threat to yatra was misleading and an effort to defame the ongoing freedom struggle. Such statements are also issued to mislead the international community.”
“The yatris are our guests. We have always welcomed them despite the abnormal situation prevailing in Kashmir,” Mirwaiz added.
The APHC chairman has said that the statement of Indian authorities that there was a threat to the yatris this year is a lie. It is contrary to the ground realities. He said such statements were issued to justify the militarization of Kashmir.
Mirwaiz was speaking during the seminar titled “Indo-Pak Friendship rooted in the resolution of Kashmir issue,” at Hurriyat headquarters Rajbagh. The seminar was organised to commemorate the 49th foundation day of the Awami Action Committee.
While presiding over the seminar, Mirwaiz has said that time has come that India and Pakistan should seriously take steps to solve the K dispute. He invited both the prime ministers of India and Pakistan to hold a high level summit in Kashmir to resolve the dispute. “Both India and Pakistan should hold meaningful conferences at Srinagar and Muzaffarabad to solve the K dispute,” APHC Chairman said. “The time has come to show political prudence and take consolidated steps to address the issue. We invite them to Kashmir and hold summits at Srinagar and Muzaffarabad and take bold steps to solve the dispute.”
Referring to the visit of India prime minister to Kashmir to inaugurate the rail project, he said such projects in no way have bearing on Kashmir issue. He said Kashmir issue is a reality and rails and fly overs are not going to change its disputed nature. “This issue can only be resolved by addressing Kashmir dispute,” he said.
Stressing that Kashmir issue was forcing both the countries to spend billions of dollars on defence budget at the cost of poor people, he said Kashmir issue was not an economic problem. He said that CBM’s won’t work without solving the K-dispute. Neither, he said that any talks between the two countries would succeed without the inclusion of genuine Kashmiri leadership in such a process.
