On the second anniversary of the abrogation of Jammu and Kashmir’s limited autonomy, All Parties’ Hurriyat Conference (APHC) said that the decision of 5 August 2019 has only “complicated the Kashmir dispute further”.
“APHC on this occasion would also like to draw attention of the citizens of India and the world at large, that the present Indian Government’s actions of 5 August 2019 has only complicated the dispute further over the state of J-K,” the Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said, in a statement.
APHC led by Mirwaiz added: “This is illustrated by the fact that it ignited the flames along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) even as some measure of calm has been introduced along the Line of Control.”
He said that it’s worth pointing out that whereas before August 2019 “New Delhi would argue that Kashmir was the main trouble spot in the state, today it is faced with four trouble spots of Leh, Kargil and Jammu as there is disaffection in these regions too”.
“Meanwhile, the Government continues to assault the people of the state by continuing to incarcerate political prisoners and youth, intimidate people by arrests and bringing in arbitrary and anti-people laws, media gags, arbitrary dismissal of locals from government service, gagging all voices of dissent and continued misrepresentation of the actual conditions in the(former) state,” the statement further read.
He said that the government of India must “accept the need to address the Kashmir dispute, engage with those who truly represent the political will and aspirations of its peoples, and diffuse the building geopolitical pressures in the region along its northern and western borders”.
APHC urges the government of India to resume engagement with the Government of Pakistan.
Furthermore, the pro-freedom group demanded that all political prisoners, including Mirwaiz, hundreds of youth and all others arrested arbitrarily or under draconian laws should be released by the government.
“It is time that the conflict over the state of J-K is resolved so that not just Kashmir, but all of South Asia can look forward to living up to its collective potential,” Mirwaiz said in the statement.
