The Hurriyat, headed by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, on Wednesday urged the visiting 24 diplomats to “push for a dialogue” on the Kashmir issue.
“The envoys should use their good offices and help in facilitating dialogue among India, Pakistan and people of J&K for the resolution for the sake of peace in this highly volatile region,” a Hurriyat spokesman said.
The Hurriyat said a curated tour of foreign dignitaries to showcase normalcy in the Valley is misleading. “Peoples’ spontaneous strike, only means of protest left to them, speaks volumes of what they feel and want.”
It said the Hurriyat’s efforts towards “seeking a dialogue among India, Pakistan and people of J&K as a means of peaceful resolution of the issue has been snubbed”.
It said the people of J&K have for the past 74 years “been demanding the resolution of the Kashmir conflict, which arose in 1947”.
“Instead of a dialogue, a policy of repression and intimidation in varying degrees has been pursued by the government of India resulting in severe human rights abuses.”
The Hurriyat alleged that efforts were on “to change the demographic composition of J&K to undermine its disputed nature”.
“After J&K was downgraded to a Union Territory and brought under the direct rule of the Centre, all forms of peaceful protest or dissent by the people to this unilateral authoritarian move and its resultant effects, is curbed by force.”
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