Mirwaiz rebuts Rajnath Singh’s remarks on Centre-Hurriyat talks
Mirwaiz said he wanted to set the record straight while responding to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s statements in election rallies in Jammu
Hurriyat Conference led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq on Monday expressed surprise over the statement of defence minister Rajnath Singh that the visit of a delegation of member of parliaments (MPs) to Kashmir and their attempt to meet Hurriyat leaders was an initiative of the Government of India.
Mirwaiz said he wanted to set the record straight while responding to defence minister Rajnath Singh’s statements in election rallies in Jammu.
“Certain facts need to be reiterated to set the record straight,” Mirwaiz, who has been put under house arrest ahead of assembly elections, said in a statement.
Singh, in a rally in Jammu on Sunday, acknowledged for the first time that he, as Union home minister, tried to reach out to Hurriyat leaders in 2016 by sending a four member delegation of opposition MPs like Sharad Yadav and from Left parties to Hurriyat Conference (hardline faction leader Syed Ali Geelani who was under house arrest) when Kashmir was witnessing large scale protests following the killing of militant commander Burhan Wani in an encounter. Singh said that the Hurriyat Conference closed their doors over the visiting delegation.
“It is also surprising to know for the first time as the media is saying, that this was an initiative at the behest of Government of India,” the Hurriyat led by Mirwaiz said in the statement.
At the time Singh had said that the MPs’ attempt to meet Hurriyat Conference was their own decision as “we neither had said no nor yes to such meetings”.
In September 2016, a delegation of over 20 MPs headed by then union home minister Rajnath Singh had visited Kashmir to make efforts for peace in the region after massive protests had erupted following the killing of Hizb commander Burhan Wani leading to much loss of lives of protesters. Four members of the delegation including Sharad Yadav from JDU and left leaders like Sitaram Yetchury and D Raja, and RJDs Jayprakash Narayan Yadav had visited Syed Ali Geelani house who snubbed them and didn’t open the gate.
It said that in September 2016 Hurriyat (moderate faction) chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq was detained at the Cheshmashahi sub-jail.
Hurriyat led by Mirwaiz said a letter was handed over to him by the jail authorities from then J&K chief minister Mehbooba Mufti written in her capacity as president of PDP and not as the Chief Minister requesting him to meet with a visiting delegation of opposition MPs and talk to them.
“After which AIMIM head Mr Asad u Din Owaisi, a member of the visiting opposition delegation, came to see Mirwaiz in the sub jail. During the meeting Mr Owaisi told Mirwaz that a delegation of MPs wants to meet the Hurriyat leadership regarding the grim situation,” it said.
The statement said Mirwaiz requested Owaisi to ask the government to stop the killings and allow the Hurriyat leadership lodged in different jails and under house arrests to meet with each other and discuss the situation among themselves first before they decide if they can collectively talk to the delegation and figure out if the opposition MPs can help in some serious attempt at long term engagement, or if it was just another attempt at crisis management. “No leader is in a position to take a decision regarding this individually, Mirwaiz clarified . Mr Owaisi agreed to it and said that he will convey this request to the government and left. After that nothing was heard of it,” the Hurriyat said.
It claimed that under the leadership of Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, it has always strongly and repeatedly advocated engagement and dialogue with the political aspirations and sentiments of the people of J&K as a means of resolution.
“Right from the time of its engagement with PM Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee, LK Advani to PM Manmohan Singh it has participated in every opportunity that was made available by the Government of India,” the statement said.
“Even at its own peril and despite the huge personal costs borne by the Mirwaiz and other Hurriyat leaders and their families for such engagements it never shied away from them , as it firmly believes that this is the only way to ensure peace and stability in J&K,” it said.
The Hurriyat said that even after the 2019 drastic unilateral changes and prolonged house detention of Mirwaiz till September 2023, he has been repeating his advocacy of talks at every occasion.