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Improve situation in Kashmir for sustaining Indo-Pak relations: Hurriyat Conference
Say that unless an atmosphere free of fear, repression and human rights violations is not permitted on the ground in Kashmir, efforts at good neighbourly relations will not bear fruit
The moderate Hurriyat Conference faction led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq on Tuesday said India and Pakistan’s agreement to adhere to ceasefire on the Line of Control and the subsequent statements and actions indicated a ‘positive shift’ in the relations between the neighbours.
The Hurriyat said it welcomes the shift towards good neighbourly relations between the two countries, which was the first step in the direction of a meaningful dialogue for the peaceful resolution of the Kashmir conflict.
“But we also believes that unless an atmosphere free of fear, repression and human rights violations is not permitted on the ground in Kashmir, efforts at good neighbourly relations will not bear fruit,” the Hurriyat statement said.
The turn in India-Pakistan relations comes around one-and-a-half years after the special status of Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 was revoked by the central government and the region split into two Union territories.
It asked the government to stop using government agencies to intimidate the youth. “The random arrests and slapping of PSA on the youth and policy of intimidation and harassment through agencies should be ended. Deaths and destruction during encounters which are deeply disturbing, should be immediately stopped,” it said.
On March 9, Union minister of state for home affairs G Kishan Reddy had told the parliament that 173 people, including separatists, overground workers and stone pelters continue to be under custody after they were detained after the scrapping of Article 370.
The separatist amalgam said it is ready to extend full support to all initiatives between the two countries that aim at bringing peace in the subcontinent and seek a fair and peaceful resolution of the Kashmir dispute.
Last month, Indian and Pakistan’s militaries agreed to strictly observe a ceasefire agreement along the Line of Control (LoC). Last week Pakistan’s army chief general Qamar Javed Bajwa said it was time for India and Pakistan to ‘bury the past’ and move forward as that would help to ‘unlock’ the potential of South and Central Asia.
