PDP MLA calls Kashmiri militants ‘our brothers’, wants dialogues with them

Aijaz Ahmed Mir said the time has come to talk to the Hurriyat, militants and other stakeholders to resolve the Kashmir issue and end the violence and bloodshed in the region.

PDP MLA Aijaz Ahmed Mir has called Kashmiri militants “our brothers” and those killed “martyrs”, and sought to involve them in the dialogues to resolve the Kashmir issue.

A man wearing a mask attends the funeral procession of a suspected militant killed by security forces in Kashmir's Shopian district last month. (REUTERS FILE PHOTO/REPRESENTATIVE IMAGE)

The Wachi MLA made the comment while speaking to mediapersons outside the Assembly on Thursday.

Mir, who hails from a militancy-infested area, said the time has come to talk to the Hurriyat, militants and other stakeholders to resolve the Kashmir issue and end the violence and bloodshed in the region.

To a poser on local militants, he said, “Call them militants or terrorists, but they are Kashmiris, they are our brothers. I request all to stop politicising their killings.”

“This house has to end the blame game over the killings,” he said, and stressed that the Centre’s special representative, Dineshwar Sharma should take the militants on board during dialogues.

When asked about killings of security personnel, the legislator said that he feels bad about them too.

He said that talks between India and Pakistan should be held for a meaningful resolution of the Kashmir issue.

The ruling party MLA’s controversial statement has left its ally BJP red-faced.