[Reader-list] United Jihad Council puts conditions for return of Kashmiri Pandits to valley

[Pawan Durani]

Source : http://bit.ly/8Xy9fv

-Sehrai, Qayoom can be Geelani’s successors
-KPs must support movement before return


SYED BASHARAT

SRINAGAR, Apr 21: United Jehad Council (UJC) an amalgam of militant
outfits active in Kashmir has expressed its willingness to enter into
dialogue provided India shuns its “rigid” stand on Kashmir issue and
accepts Kashmir as disputed.

This has been stated by Syed Sallah-u-Din, UJC Supreme Commander in a
tele-interview to a local news agency here today.

In his interview, the UJC supreme commander has said that Kashmir
movement is justified by the United Nation’s resolutions.

Referring to the statement of senior separatist leader and Hurriyat
(M) executive member, Prof Abdul Ghani Bhat’s statement, describing UN
resolutions on Kashmir as irrelevant, Sallah-u-Din has said that if
the people of Kashmir including its leadership have decided to
surrender their right to self determination, then they will,
themselves put an end to their freedom struggle.

He has observed that in days to come, the world community will have to
accept the right to self determination of Kashmiris, provided the
people in Kashmir remain firm in their freedom struggle.

Sallah-u-Din has however, suggested that if United Nation’s resolution
are not workable for the solution of Kashmir issue, the same can be
settled through tripartite dialogue which should include India,
Pakistan and Kashmiri people.

Sallah-u-Din who is also the chief of Hizbul Mujahideen militant
outfit has maintained that militancy will continue to have its
relevance till Kashmir is not settled through peaceful, legal,
democratic and diplomatic means. He has cautioned the security forces
to refrain from human rights violations in Kashmir. He warned that
alienation against India can turn into a regional catastrophe.

He has also regretted Pervez Musharraf former president of Pakistan’s
unilateral flexibility shown vis-�-vis Kashmir issue. “Musharraf’s
flexible approach has immensely harmed the Kashmir movement. And the
damage he has caused can never be compensated,” Sallah-u-Din has said.

Asked about the reasons behind the decrease in militant activities,
the UJC chief has said that they were fighting a guerilla war in
Kashmir based on ‘hit and run principle’. He said that guerilla war is
not a one time fight and the same is fought in piece meals.
“Sustaining this guerilla war for 20 to 21 years is also an
achievement of the Kashmir movement,” he has remarked.

Lauding the role of senior separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani in
Kashmir’s freedom movement, the UJC chief has said that given the poor
health conditions of Geelani it was inevitable to find the successor
of Geelani.  He has also nominated Jamat-e-Islami senior member and
general secretary Tehreek-e-Hurriyat Mohammad Ashraf Sehrai as the
undisputed stake holder for the chairmanship.

Sehrai, according to Sallah-u-Din, has played a very vital role in the
Kashmir movement and has remained steadfast in his resolve which was
not broken by his frequent detentions.

However, he has added that outside Hurriyat forum senior advocate and
High Court Bar Association Mian Abdul Qayoom can also replace Geelani.
He also hailed the Qayoom for his role in the Kashmir movement.

 Putting conditions for the return of Kashmiri Pandits, Sallah-u-Din
has said that being a part of Kashmir they will have to restore the
trust deficit which according to him was created by Pandits when they
migrated on the dictation of the then governor Jagmohan.

 “The Kashmiri Pandits will have to make it clear that they will
support the freedom movement,” he has added.

He has held India responsible for the bloodshed in Kashmir saying that
the country’s 60-year-occupation in Kashmir has no justification.
Sallah-u-Din, who is also chief of the Hizbul Mujahideen militant
outfit, has said that India has backtracked from its promises made on
the floor of Unites Nation’s assembly. He has also reaffirmed that the
solution of Kashmir issue lies in the United Nation’s resolutions.
The UJC chief has termed the Kashmir movement a genuine struggle which
cannot be affected by political happenings around the world. He has
appreciating the diplomatic support to Kashmir movement extended by
Pakistan while urging upon its government to support the movement
militarily.

Criticising the separatist elements who according to him, have
bypassed the United Nation’s resolutions on Kashmir, Sallah-u-Din has
said that those who deem UNO resolutions on Kashmir irrelevant should
understand that their rejection of UN resolutions itself cast
aspersions on the credibility of the world body.

He has asked Mirwaiz Umar Farooq as why he entered into dialogue with
the government of India and after seven years, why he was compelled to
regret on India’s sincerity towards the resolution of Kashmir issue.

Sallah-u-Din has observed that Kashmir’s armed struggle is people’s
movement and it was not started with the support of Pakistan. He has
agreed that Pakistan is under severe pressure after 9/11 attack in USA
but according to him, the pressure on Pakistan in no way has affected
the Kashmir movement.

The Hizb chief has observed that after 9/11 attack Kashmir issue
resonated in the United Nation’s general assembly. The OIC he has said
passed a resolution which stressed on the speedy disposal of the
Kashmir issue and condemned the human rights violations perpetrated by
the Indian security forces in Kashmir.

 “Besides OIC, clear indications were given to India by the European
Union and the USA to resolve Kashmir issue without any further delay,”
Sallah-u-Din has said, while lauding the role of China whose official
stand on Kashmir is, “a significant achievement of Kashmir movement.”

The Hizbul Mujahideen chief has maintained that the militancy will
continue to have its relevance till the Kashmir is not settled
through, peaceful, legal, democratic and diplomatic means. He has
cautioned the security forces to refrain from human rights violations
in Kashmir, otherwise, according to him; the alienation against India
can turn into a regional catastrophe.

Asked about the reasons behind the decrease in militant activities,
the UJC chief has said that they were fighting a guerilla war in
Kashmir based on ‘hit and run principle’. He said that guerilla war is
not a one time fight and the same is fought in piece meals.
“Sustaining this guerilla war for 20 to 21 years is also an
achievement of the Kashmir movement,” he has remarked.

 He has also criticised the statements of successive Indian army
chiefs in which they have counted the number of militants not more
than 800. “As has been claimed by the Indian army chiefs that these
militants will eliminated in a few months, I ask them why they have
failed to do so,” Sallah-u-Din has asked.

 “In freedom movements, 40 to 50 years with one lakh sacrifices does
not matter much. Even India got liberated after its 150 years of
freedom movement. The Kashmir issue has now become a focal point of
world attention. India should shun its rigidity otherwise the entire
region will be engulfed by the nuclear disaster,” he has asserted.
Asking Hurriyat leadership to unite, Sallah-u-Din has said that the
constitution made in 1993 provides a basis for the unity among the
divided Hurriyat leadership.

 Sallah-u-Din has also rejected the rehabilitation and return of youth
policy of the state government. Commenting on the controversial book
of Dr Shafi Sharaiti, the UJC chief has said that the section of book
written on Jamat-e-Islami’s role in Kashmir movement by its author is
not acceptable.

[Kashmir Times]