Rehan Qayoom Mir
Srinagar, Oct 25: Kashmir’s Chief Islamic Cleric- Mirwaiz Umar Farooq on Friday said that Hurriyat is ready to hold dialogue with the current dispensation in New Delhi and that it supports Prime Minister Modi’s statement at BRICS summit in which he termed the present era as era of dialogue and diplomacy.
Delivering the Friday sermon at historic Jamia Masjid here, Mirwiaz said that time has come when dialogue should be initiated for making peace a permanent feature of otherwise volatile Jammu and Kashmir.
He said that the recent terror attack in Gagangir, Ganderbal is condemnable to the core as innocent lives were lost. “In the similar way, we have seen yesterday (October 24) a lethal attack in Gulmarg. This is worrisome and merits our concern that how come in such a high security zone such an attack could take place. This has to be investigated. At the same time, we would like to reiterate that dialogue between the stakeholders is a must,” Mirwaiz said.
In his speech, Mirwaiz also supported Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent statement at the BRICS summit in which he said that the era of wars and confrontation has gone and now is the time of dialogue and diplomacy.
“This is absolutely correct. We support Prime Minister Modi’s statement. This is what we have been saying since day one. Even when we were being targeted by various elements for our stand, we remained firm on our principle that there is no alternative to talks. When Hurriyat Conference was established in Kashmir, which was the peak militancy period. However, the raison d’etre of our amalgam was to pitch for dialogue so that bloodshed is stopped and human lives are safeguarded. We are still pursuing that stand. We talked to Vajpayee Sb and Manmohan Singh ji with Musharraf Sb and we are always ready to engage with the current dispensation in New Delhi. There has been too much bloodshed in Kashmir to allow it to continue,” Mirwaiz said.
He added that since the abrogation of Article 370, he remained under house arrest and could get a chance to meet his colleagues.
“Recently, I got a chance to meet my colleagues – Professor Abdul Gani Bhat, Masroor Abbas Ansari and Bilal Gani Lone. We deliberated over the prevalent situation and also remembered those who left us for heavenly abode during the period of our incarceration- they include Syed Ali Geelani, Molana Abbas Ansari, Musaddiq Adil, Ashraf Sehrai. The members also regretted the continued detention of their colleagues and Hurriyat leaders languishing in jails including Yasin Malik, Shabir Shah, Asiya Andrabi, Shahidul Islam, Nayeem Khan, Qasim Phaktoo, Masarat Alam, Peer Hafizullah, Ayaz Akbar and others,” Mirwaiz said. (KNO)
