KL NEWS NETWORK
SRINAGAR
Reacting sharply to the statement from VHP threatening of another 2008-like economic blockade of Kashmir, the Kashmir Inc Saturday said, “threat call was eye opener that the RSS and its off shots were responsible for the previous humanitarian crisis enforced on Kashmir seven years ago and that the same right wing forces were again hell bent to divide the state on regional/communal lines.”
The business community maintained that the provocation in the name of religion was intolerable as “we are Muslims first, businesspersons later”.
Addressing a press conference, the business fraternity of Kashmir including Kashmir Economic Alliance, the Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industries and the Kashmir Traders and Manufactures Federation, businessman Mohammed Yasin Khan said, “we appeal the international community particular humans rights groups like Amnesty International and Asia Watch to probe the deaths and other humanitarian crisis that was enforced on the people of Kashmir through a deep rooted conspiracy in 2008.”
Khan said, “apart from killing of innocent civilians, the right wing forces were responsible for scores of death in 2008 due to shortage of medicines and even baby food when the highway was taken hostage.” “But the bigger conspiracy against the people of Kashmir was growing apparent with each passing day as the right wing RSS which is a partner to the coalition government in the state though BJP, is working on a game plan to divide the state of Jammu and Kashmir.”
“This game plan,” Khan said, “seems to be the extension of the same conspiracy by virtue of which five lakh Muslims of Jammu region were slaughtered in 1947. Now the same is being extended to Kashmir as well.”
He added, “the bigger question was silence of the PDP led government towards such sinister designs being hatched by their allies in coalition.”
“We want the PDP led government headed by Mufti Mohammed Sayeed to clear its stand on the issue because for all practical purposes PDP and BJP are partners in the alliance which is proving anti-Kashmir and anti-Muslim,” Khan demanded.
Reacting to the VHP threat of economic blockade, he said, “the ball was in the court of Jammu Inc. Now the ball is in the court of Jammu business community whether they want to go with the designs of the communal forces or they want to uphold their traditional business ties with Kashmir. But the Jammu Inc will have to make its stand clear on the issue. We want the Jammu business community to go public on the issue or their silence will be taken as acceptance to the designs of the right wing.”
The Kashmir Inc said the irony has been that the Valley is being taken hostage and blackmailed through economic blockade only because it has been kept “strategically dependant” on single road connectivity with the rest of the world through the Srinagar-Jammu highway whereas, the business community said, “the more important Srinagar-Muzaffarabad highway has been kept open for symbolic trade.”
“I want to put question to Mufti Sarkar which boasts having opened the Muzaffarabad highway that what has been the benefit of the connectivity? We want the road be opened to true business between the two Kashmirs so that the people reap some genuine benefits of this road, which presently helps none but mainstream politicians,” Khan said.
He appealed the Government of India to open the Muzaffarbad-Srinagar highway for true trade and prosperity in the region. “Had the road been open during the September 2014 floods international aid would have reached Kashmir but its being kept closed to serve the bigger interests of forces like RSS who take us hostage in the name of Jammu highway, which they have taken as their personal fiefdom,” Khan said.
“Kashmir being a conflict zone needs required connectivity with the rest of the world. But as of now our dependency on Jammu Srinagar highway leads to our exploitation which the international community must take note of,” Khan said.
