Hold plebiscite if there is change in mood in J&K, pro-freedom groups tell Rahul Gandhi By AFZAL SOFI Published: Mon, 17 June 2013 10:35 PM Srinagar: Kashmir’s leading pro-freedom groups Sundaycriticized the Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi for his statement that UPA government in New Delhi has over the years“transformed the mood in Kashmir”and that situation in Jammu and Kashmir is not dependent on change in government in Pakistan. All the main pro-freedom parties including, Hurriyat Conference (G), Hurriyat Conference (M), JKLF, and Democratic Freedom Party said that if Gandhi believes that the mood in Kashmir has really changed“then it is right time for India to hold referendum in Jammu and Kashmir and solve the dispute once and for all.” They also challenged Gandhi to provide political space to pro-freedom parties to see the true sentiment of the people of Kashmir. Gandhi, during his one-day visit to the Valley Saturday, said,“There is massive progress in Kashmir. There is a progress in the sentiment of the people. There is progress in connectivity in Kashmir…we are going to ensure that people of Kashmir get the development they deserve.” Hurriyat (G) chairman, Syed Ali Geelani said that Gandhi’s statement is“contradictory to the facts on ground as the pro-freedom sentiment in Kashmir can never be transformed.” “No developmental work can change the sentiments of people of Kashmir. If Rahul Gandhi believes that mood among people have changed then India should hold referendum in Jammu and Kashmir which will solve the problem for ever,”Geelani told Kashmir Reader. “If the situation has really changed in Kashmir, why there is no political space for pro-freedom leaders and why there are restrictions on their movement,”Geelani asked. “India believes that by launching any new scheme or by making roads and railway projects they can change the sentiment of people, but it is not true,”he said. JKLF chairman Yasin Malik said that if Gandhi is to be believed, then India should not miss the opportunity to hold a referendum in Kashmir and give right to self-determination to the people of Kashmir which they have been denied for the past 60 years. Malik said Gandhi“should look into the situation to realize how India is pushing the Kashmiri youth towards armed struggle again.” “During last four years Kashmiri people showed the transition from violent to non-violent struggle, but India in return continued with the killings and other human rights abuses,”Malik said. He said that during the past two decades,“India tried to change the mindset of people by pumping money and boosting corruption at every level in the state, but Kashmiris did not change their political stance.” He also said that the change of leadership in Pakistan has bearing on the Kashmir issue, but during last few years“Kashmiris have also shown that they can lead the movement of their own.” Similar views were expressed by DFP chairman Shabir Shah. “Problem will be solved for ever if referendum is held. If people of Kashmir vote for India all of us will accept it wholeheartedly,”Shah said. Speaking on the behalf of Hurriyat (M) chairman, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who was not available for his comment, the media advisor of the party, Shahid-ul-Islam said that if Gandhi believes that UPA changed the mood of people in Kashmir,“then I want to tell him that people of Kashmir showed their true sentiment in 2008 and 2010 when UPA was ruling India.” He said that if situation has changed,“as they claim, why did they not allow Mirwaiz to hold the rally on May 21 and why has Geelani been constantly put under house arrest?” “I challenge Rahul Gandhi to give space to pro-freedom leaders here and see the sentiment of people,”said Islam. Meanwhile, the newly launched Awami Ittihaad Party (AIP) led by MLA Engineer Rashid also reacted to Gandhi’s statement. “How can there possibly be a change in the sentiments and mood of the people in Kashmir when there has been no iota of change in the policy of the UPA towards Kashmiris as evidenced by such self-incriminating actions such as the hanging of Afzal Guru and the refusal to return his body to his family,”asked an AIP spokesman in a statement here. Gandhi’s“spurious statement about‘change’and‘development’in Kashmir as well as the fact that he has distanced himself from the issue of the revocation of the AFSPA is a clear evidence of his government’s lifetime disconnect from Kashmir.” Gandhi and other leaders“who take credit for so-called peace in Kashmir should put their facts together. What kind of peace are they talking about in Kashmir when an 80-year-old Kashmiri has to get a CID verification for going to Hajj, where local TV channels and SMS have been banned, where a common man has to censor his political views on social media, where an old leader like Geelani sahib has been house arrested and not allowed to meet the people, where the presence of 10 lakh Indian soldiers shielded by a draconian law AFSPA against 300 militants is legitimized,”the statement said. If Gandhi is so sure about the change in the mood and sentiments of the people in Kashmir,“then why does he not persuade Indian leadership to hold a plebiscite in Jammu and Kashmir,”the AIP statement added.
Posted on: Mon, 17 Jun 2013 02:24:35 +0000
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