Jammu, February 22 (KNO) : Stating that war and violence was solution to no problem in the world, Peoples Democratic Front (PDF) President Hakeem Mohammad Yaseen Saturday urged leadership of India and Pakistan to exercise restraint and engage in dialogue to settle all the issues.
In a statement issued to KNO, Hakeem Yaseen said, “A stable bilateral relationship between India and Pakistan is not only essential to the peace and stability in the region, but the people of Jammu and Kashmir. History is witness that people of the J&K have always been the worst victims of Indo-Pak hostilities.”
Stating that people of Kashmir are paying for the Himalayan blunders committed by the leadership from time-to-time, he said, “The Kashmir Valley is bubbling with anger as repressive tactic by the state have alienated people further. Till Kashmir bleeds people of Kashmir will continue to pay a heavy price. The cycle of violence cannot be broken by brute force. Kashmir finds itself caught in a perilous situation.”
“It is worrying trend because it is akin to the atmosphere of hate and isolation evidenced in the 1990s. Rising incidents of attacks on Kashmiris outside state since last one week is unfortunate and instead of the government providing security to people, now courts have to come to the rescue of Kashmiris who are increasingly feeling increasingly unsafe and insecure across the country,” the PDF chief said.
Kashmir is at that juncture and eyes will be on the political leaderships in Delhi as how they respond to the prevailing situation. Government of India instead of using force to silence the dissent, should hold dialogue with all. India is a democratic country and it doesn’t behove well for it to supress the voices of dissent,” he added.
Hakeem Yaseen said that it was unfortunate that some colleges and universities have refused to take Kashmiri students while others have forced them to leave. “It is unfortunate that Kashmiri students are being made homeless in their own country,” he said.
The former MLA Khansahib said that to restore normalcy in Kashmir, only way out is to hold dialogue with all voices of dissent. “The solution of the problem requires only winning the confidence of the youth through sincere dialogue with all stakeholders. More the talks are delayed, and force used in the state, the greater will be the violence and alienation of the youth,” he added.
He also expressed concern over the government’s decision to stop advertisements to Greater Kashmir and Kashmir Reader newspapers, “It is a deliberate attempt to strangulate and subvert the institution of media in Jammu and Kashmir. Hitting the two institutions will impact the state and status of both the journalists and the journalism in Kashmir.”
Hakeem Yaseen also condemned the wanton arrests of Jamaat-e-Islami and separatist leaders and activists during the night. “In the past 24 hours, Hurriyat and Jamaat leaders and activists have been arrested which is an arbitrary move. It will only worsen things in the Valley as there was no reason and justification for the government to arrest them,” he said and demanded immediate release of all the leaders and activists. “Right from 1947 arrests and repression has continued in Kashmir, but it has yielded noting and in future also it will fail,” the PDF chief asserted. (KNO)