Hardline Kashmiri separatist leader and chairman of the breakaway Hurriyat group Syed Ali Geelani said on Wednesday that his group will now work for troops withdrawal through "an extremely peaceful movement".
Alleging that the use of "excessive force" by the government was meant to push the Kashmiri people into taking up arms again, Geelani said that his group will continue to work on troops withdrawal through an "extremely peaceful movement" in which "even provocative slogans will be avoided".
"The government perpetrated the worst form of state terrorism, killed hundreds of people and wounded thousands."
"It was all meant to push us again into taking up arms. But, let me tell India that anger and atrocities will not take over us," Geelani asserted while addressing a seminar on "United Nations resolutions and sacrifices of the oppressed nation," organised by his group at their Humhama headquarters in the city.
"We will come on roads peacefully, will carry out our activities in the districts but won’t even resort to provocative sloganeering," he said.
"A peaceful movement is the policy of our party now,” he claimed, adding that he is not for separating "any genuine part" of India.
{{/usCountry}}"A peaceful movement is the policy of our party now,” he claimed, adding that he is not for separating "any genuine part" of India.
{{/usCountry}}"We are not separatists but we are pro-freedom people. We are not struggling to annex any genuine part of India, but we are struggling for the genuine demand of the right to self determination for the Kashmiri people," Geelani said.
He accused the security forces of issuing policy statements on behalf of the central as well as the state government.