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Mirwaiz writes to Pak, India PMs to respect truce on LoC
SYED YASIR. Dated: 8/26/2013 11:50:38 PM
SRINAGAR, Aug 26: Hurriyat Conference (M) Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has shot letters to Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharief in which an appeal has been made to take practical steps for maintaining cease fire on the Line of Control (LoC).
Informing the media, the contents of the letters at party headquarters, the Mirwaiz urged both the prime ministers to meet in New York on the sidelines of United Nations General Assembly session in September which would help in normalising the ties and would also help in resolving the Kashmir issue.
Mirwaiz said the ongoing confrontations between militaries of India and Pakistan are distressing and nobody will gain from it except those who are inimical to peace in the region.
“I am sending letters to Prime Minister of India and Pakistan on behalf of people of Jammu and Kashmir to respect ceasefire on LoC, the daily military confrontation over the past few weeks on Loc with increasing tensions, accusations and counter accusations. The military confrontation would not only endanger lives and property of thousands of Kashmiri civilians who live along the both sides of the LoC, but will also pose a great threat to peace and normalcy in both the countries,” the Mirwaiz said.
Mirwaiz also said that at a time when the conditions and situation in Jammu and Kashmir continues to worsen and the dynamics between India and Pakistan appear to be heading on a path of deterioration, “we find ourselves compelled to write to you to communicate our concerns and convey an urgent appeal for peace on behalf of the people of the state. We believe that the decision to put an end to such hostilities along the LoC in 2003 ceasefire was an act of great wisdom and courageous statesmanship on the part of your predecessors. If the present situation along the LoC is allowed to worsen, it would not only endanger the lives, limbs and property of thousands of Kashmiri civilians who live along both sides of the LoC, it threatens to cause a setback to your intended efforts to work with each other to put India and Pakistan on the path towards peace,” he said.
The Hurriyat chairman said that it is very regrettable to observe that various sections of opinion in India have been calling for a suspension of peace efforts between the two countries. He said that in these militaristic entreaties and these shrill calls to abandon the path of dialogue, “we fear that the foundation for a future war and a potential nuclear catastrophe is being laid. At a time when mistrust and hostilities are increasing, we feel that it is incumbent on the leadership of India and Pakistan to engage more directly, more urgently and more effectively in dialogue with one another. Given the evolving situation in the region, any decision to abandon the path of dialogue would be a reckless decision. Indeed, it risks pushing South Asia towards the dangerous abyss of renewed confrontation, increased hostility, regional instability and even nuclear crisis,” he said.
The Mirwaiz called upon both of you to recognise the vital need for statesmanship. South Asia is poised at a very critical juncture in its modern history. If bold and visionary decisions are taken today they could yield an entirely new reality for the region. If India and Pakistan are able to engage with each other to improve ties and peacefully resolve their differences and if they are able to focus on a peaceful resolution of the Kashmir Conflict, a new era of stability and prosperity could be unleashed.
He said that in a matter of a few years, South Asia could become a much more peaceful and economically integrated region. Rather than being focal points of violent conflict and human tragedy, places like Afghanistan and Jammu & Kashmir could serve as important hubs for transit and trade along a New Silk Road that would connect the economies of South and Central Asia. Such a scenario of peace would be to the benefit of all - the specter of nuclear catastrophe would be removed from the region once and for all. However, if the path of dialogue and negotiation is abandoned and if India and Pakistan are unable to muster the political will needed to peacefully resolve disputes, South Asia will face a perilous future - one that traps the people of the region in continuing conflict, hostility, ignorance and poverty.
The Hurriyat chairman said that Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan has the authority and the responsibility to steer South Asia away from such a hostile and uncertain future.
“It is our request to both of you to take decisions that will ensure that the region does not become ensnared in renewed military confrontation and nuclear insecurity. Instead of allowing disputes to fester and worsen, you must make urgent efforts to address and resolve them once and for all. Instead of trying to resolve disputes through force and instead of engaging in acts of hostility and vengeance, you must resolve disputes through political dialogue and negotiation. You must make maximum efforts to gift our future generations with a bright and peaceful future,” he said.
Appealing to both the countries to proceed with plans to meet each other in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in September, he said that it is very important that you do not allow the recent developments to hold back a renewed effort to engage in a process of dialogue.
“Even if it involves some political risks and even if there are additional negative incidents, you must proceed ahead and meet directly with each other and start working to reduce the current level of mistrust and defuse the present tensions along the LoC and elsewhere in the region. Let a process of vigorous dialogue come to the front, not the beginning of a new chapter of violence and instability,” he said.
He said that the people of the state fervently appeal to both the leaders to together commit India and Pakistan to make a new beginning towards a peaceful resolution of the Kashmir Conflict. Just as the Israelis and Palestinians have resumed talks after years of bitter hostilities and just as talks on Afghanistan are proceeding after years of war and violence, India and Pakistan must also come back to the negotiating table. Relations cannot be governed by force and, ultimately, international disputes cannot be resolved through military means. Instead, visionary leadership and a good faith willingness to negotiate are needed to resolve disputes. The requirements of justice must be fulfilled and creative political solution seeking must be pursued in order to reach peace agreements that are lasting and which are acceptable to all sides.
Mirwaiz said that rather than avoiding negotiations, you must resolve to initiate more vigorous talks with each other and must agree to work towards the start of a full-fledged peace process focused on Jammu & Kashmir. To create new impetus and momentum for this, a clear framework for such a process must be developed, agreed to and focused on. In this regard, we believe that the two countries must address two critical pieces that have so far been missing in all the previous attempts to resolve the Kashmir Conflict.
Mirwaiz also said that there is already an emerging consensus that the Kashmir Conflict must be resolved once and for all. “Even the so-called mainstream parties like National Conference and People Democratic Party have come around to the view held by the APHC and others that the Kashmir Conflict must be addressed politically and that it is not an administrative issue. You must work to develop a similar consensus across the spectrum in India and Pakistan. We request you to work together towards a developing a collective commitment by all major political parties for a peaceful resolution of the Kashmir Conflict. There should be a shared commitment by one and all to engage in dialogue to achieve a peaceful, political solution to the Kashmir,” he said.
Conflict - one that is acceptable to all and one that is in accordance with the aspirations of the people of Jammu & Kashmir. This agenda for peace should be approved in both countries and the initiation of a peace process on Kashmir should ideally be endorsed at the onset with formal declarations by the Senate and National Assembly in Pakistan and by both houses of Parliament in India. The search for peace in Kashmir should become a common objective – shared by all, worked for by all, and risked for by all.
Terming the elections a non issue, the Hurriyat chairman said that they have time and again made it clear that elections have no importance for them and their goal is clear that right of self determination should be given to people of the state to decide their future.
Mirwaiz also said that during the upcoming musical symphony of world-renowned maestro Zubin Mehta in Nishat Srinagar crores of rupees will be spent on boarding and lodging of the artistes who are being flown in chartered planes and on TV and media rights of the event.
“Instead of spending the money on this event it would be much better if this money is utilised for the healthcare and education of the downtrodden people of this conflict zone," he said.