Srinagar, May 2: Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq on Friday said the situation between India and Pakistan was worsening and hoped that the countries would resolve all issues without going to war.
Tensions between India and Pakistan have escalated in the wake of the April 22 Pahalgam attack in Jammu and Kashmir, in which 26 people, mostly tourists, were gunned down by terrorists.
“We pray that the situation between India and Pakistan, that is getting worse by the day, is resolved without going to war,” Mirwaiz, who is also Kashmir’s chief cleric, said while addressing the Friday congregation at Jamia Masjid here.
Terming the issue of the deportation of Pakistani nationals living in Jammu and Kashmir as “humanitarian”, the Mirwaiz said it is “leading to the division of families with mothers being separated from little children and husbands from wives”.
“One such incident led to the tragic death of 80-year-old paralysed Abdul Waheed Bhat on a bus while being deported. In Kashmir, it is sorrow after sorrow and grief after grief that visits us,” he said.
Mirwaiz appealed to the Centre to revisit the policy.
“It is inimical to actual peace and stability in Jammu and Kashmir if that is what the government of India wants for J and K. I also appeal to them that on humanitarian grounds, the family members of such people not be deported and their families made to suffer,” he said.
He said the events unfolding after the horrendous Pahalgam incident have again shown that whenever such things happen, it is the people of Kashmir “who bear the brunt and suffer”.
“Despite the unanimous condemnation of it (attack), it is the people of Kashmir who are being held to account and targeted. Massive crackdowns are taking place. Two people, Altaf Lali and Ghulam Rasool Margay, have been killed with their families, claiming that these were extrajudicial killings which should be impartially investigated,” he said.
“Thousands of people have been detained and scores of houses have been demolished by explosions, rendering families homeless and desolate. The vilification of Kashmiris by large sections of the media has forced students and professionals outside to return in fear. How is all this helping in punishing the perpetrators if that is the aim?” he added.
Referring to the announcements made by police in various areas of the city here on the ban on his organisation, Awami Action Committee (AAC), the Mirwaiz said the outfit has always stood for peace and reconciliation.
“Also, after the unjust and politically motivated banning of AAC, now announcements are made on police loudspeakers threatening people with dire consequences for associating with it.
“People know that this organisation has always stood for peace and reconciliation and understand that these are fear-building tactics. It would be better to win over people than to intimidate them into submission,” he said.–(PTI)
