‘Ceasefire futile, only offered to claim lost ground’
Srinagar, May 18 (KMS): In occupied Kashmir, the Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL) comprising Syed Ali Gilani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Muhammad Yasin Malik, has termed the ceasefire in the territory announced by India as ‘Operation Halt’ and a cruel joke with the freedom-loving people of Kashmir, who are engaged in a legitimate struggle for securing their right to self-determination.
The resistance leaders in a statement issued after a meeting at Hyderpora residence of Syed Ali Gilani in Srinagar said, the peace-loving people of Kashmir believe in permanent peace rather than a relaxation in killing for one month and want a permanent halt on the war thrust by India. They deplored that India instead of hearing the clear message of the people of Kashmir is hell bent to trample the genuine voice of the people by its military might.
The leaders said that India was suffering from arrogance of power and was outrightly rejecting the UN resolutions, legitimate and peaceful formula of right to self-determination and even the science of dialogue as a means of conflict resolution.
Terming the so-called ceasefire as a ploy by New Delhi to hoodwink the public opinion on both national and international level, the resistance leaders advised the Indian authorities to shun arrogance and accept Kashmir as a dispute. “Declaration of one month’s truce and sticking to a loud denial to solve the Kashmir dispute is a mere hypocrisy. It is highly illogical and unfortunate to offer relaxation in killings for one month and then restart it with impunity,” they added.
The resistance leaders appealed to the people of occupied Kashmir to make the march towards Lal Chowk, on the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the territory tomorrow (Saturday), a grand success in order to send a clear message to the Indian authorities that the people of Kashmir shall never accept anything less than their right to self-determination. They also urged people to observe complete shutdown on the occasion.
Earlier, addressing a seminar in Srinagar, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Muhammad Yasin Malik said that ceasefire was no solution unless the Kashmir dispute was resolved. The Mirwaiz said that the Kashmiri youth had been pushed to the wall and forced to pick up the gun. “Should we not address the reasons why youth are picking up the gun? The root cause is the Kashmir issue. Ceasefire is no solution unless the Kashmir issue is addressed,” he added.
Muhammad Yasin Malik said that the strikes and shutdowns were a compulsion and the resistance leadership was working to find alternatives to the strikes to register its protest against the killings and other atrocities by the Indian troops. He said that New Delhi wanted to force the people of Kashmir to surrender but they would continue their freedom struggle till it reached its logical conclusion. Mirwaiz and Malik said that the ceasefire was a cosmetic measure unless followed by a comprehensive plan to address the Kashmir dispute.
The High Court Bar Association of the occupied territory in a statement described the ceasefire announced by the Indian government as farcical because there is nothing in the said announcement regarding taking concrete steps to settle the Kashmir dispute in accordance with the aspirations of the Kashmiri people.
Meanwhile, political experts have said that the ceasefire announced by India was aimed at claiming the lost ground in the occupied territory.
Political Science Professor, Noor Ahmed Baba in an interview said, India has actually lost its ground in Kashmir, and now by offering the ceasefire, they are trying to rebuild it. “They are trying to bring people of Kashmir into confidence, which is not possible this way. The main issue is to resolve the Kashmir dispute by sitting together on one table,” he added.
Law Professor and columnist, Dr Sheikh Showkat Hussain, said, “It (ceasefire) may be a unilateral action aiming at addressing global level concerns and gaining publicity, but will it be followed by some serious efforts to get some resolution?”
Awami Ittehad Party President and member of the so-called Kashmir Assembly, Engineer Abdur Rasheed, said that the move of announcing a ceasefire was a good one but it needed to be taken forward with sincerely. He said that India must offer unconditional talks to resolve the Kashmir dispute and just announcing a ceasefire would not work alone.
