Kashmir’s chief cleric and Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who was once again placed under house arrest on Friday, ahead of the polling in Srinagar, has reiterated to “fight for peaceful resolution of the Kashmir issue and desisted from issuing a boycott call”, unlike the past.
“The government of India made drastic unilateral changes and complicated the dynamics of the Kashmir issue in 2019. The alterations have further disempowered people. In the changed circumstances, issuing a boycott call does not seem to carry the sense or yield the impact like in the past. People of J&K, who have been baptised by fire from decades old conflict, have enough political maturity and wisdom to know what best to do in the current situation. I trust their judgment,” the Mirwaiz said.
The Mirwaiz was referring to the split of J&K into two Union Territories in 2019. Elaborating on the boycott policy of the Hurriyat, the Mirwaiz said there never were reservations about the idea of elections. “Constituents of the united Hurriyat, like People’s Conference of Abdul Gani Lone sahab, Jamaat-e-Islami, members of Muslim United Front and some others did participate in elections held before 1990,” he said.
“The government of India unfortunately would project these elections as people’s will in the larger context of the Kashmir conflict. Our reservations over misrepresenting these polling still stand. This precisely forced us to appeal for a boycott,” the Hurriyat chairman added.
Referring to the events of post-1947, the Mirwaiz said, “The new neighbours (India and Pakistan) took the Kashmir problem to international fora, fought war three to four times and signed bilateral agreements. However, a final settlement still eludes us,” the Mirwaiz said.
He said both the parts of the erstwhile State of J&K and its people still remain divided. “The Hurriyat, formed in 1993, was a political initiative for supporting a political resolution of this long standing issue on the democratic principle of respect for the aspirations and will of the people of J&K. The Hurriyat’s political endeavour remains favouring peaceful methods of dialogue and cooperation between the parties as means to a resolution,” he added.
Meanwhile, with the elections in Srinagar slated for May 13, the authorities on Friday placed the Mirwaiz under house arrest and disallowed congregational prayers at Jama Masjid.
“The Mirwaiz has again been placed under house arrest at his residence this morning. He was not allowed to address the faithful at Jama Masjid,” a spokesman of the Anjuman Auqaf Jama Masjid, said.
His fresh house detention comes in spite of peaceful congregational prayers at Jama Masjid this year.
