For the first time since the revocation of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status in August last year, the Mirwaiz Umar Farooq-headed Hurriyat held a meeting in Srinagar and stressed on the peaceful resolution of the Kashmir issue, while calling for dialogue among its stakeholders.
The conglomerate’s executive members — Prof. Abdul Ghani Bhat, Bilal Lone and Masroor Abbas Ansari — held a meeting at the residence of former Hurriyat chairman Maulana Abbas Ansari, a Hurriyat spokesperson said.
“The J&K dispute has to be resolved peacefully, as per the wishes and aspirations of the people of J&K. The resolution has to take place among its three stakeholders — India, Pakistan and the people of J&K. Dialogue, which the Hurriyat has advocated and has participated in, among its three stakeholders is the best alternative to resolve it,” said the spokesperson.
‘Best guarantee’
He said the resolution of the Kashmir issue is the best guarantee for real peace and the subsequent prosperity of the subcontinent. “The Hurriyat will continue to pursue the peaceful resolution of the Kashmir conflict,” he added.
There have been attempts to change the demographic character of J&K since 1947, he said. “It was in August 2019 that the final nail in the coffin was hammered in this regard. These attempts at demographic engineering are completely unacceptable to the people of J&K, who have totally rejected it,” the spokesperson said.
Meanwhile, the spokesperson said that Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq could not attend the meeting “as he continued to be under arbitrary house arrest since August 2019”.
