City
Epaper

Ultimately India, Pakistan have to find solution: J&K Plebiscite Front leader

By IANS | Updated: August 16, 2019 11:55 IST

A leader of the Jammu and Kashmir Plebiscite Front (JKPF) has said that because of the indifference of the world powers to the Kashmir issue, it will ultimately be up to India and Pakistan to find a solution that gives the people of the region a voice.

Open in App

The US organiser of the JKPF based in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, Syed Haider, told in an interview on Thursday that since Kashmir did not have any rich resources like oil, major countries were not interested in helping it.

Therefore, the two nations involved will have to themselves work out a peaceful solution that will lead to a gradual demilitarisation of Kashmir on the two sides of the line of control, building confidence to enable the withdrawal of troops over a few years, he said.

This could be followed by a settlement based on a plebiscite or a way that gives the people of Kashmir a voice, he said.

A first step in this timeline would be the reinstatement of Kashmir's special status under Articles 370 and 35A of the Indian Constitution, he added.

Haider was interviewed after he had spoken at a protest organised outside the UN by Khalistan supporters against the withdrawal of Kashmir's special status.

He said his organisation was totally against the "persecution" and targeting of Kashmiri Pandits in the late 1980s and early 1990s that led to their exodus from the valley.

The Pandit community is special to Kashmir, is gifted, and has made contributions to it, he said.

They are vital to the culture of Kashmir and "there cannot be a Kashmir without them", he added.

"They contributed to all aspects of Kashmir... Take Kashmir cuisine, for example, the Pandits had 22 ways of making meat dishes that are special to only Kashmir.

"The attacks on them were totally wrong and we (JKPF) opposed it," Haider said.

The attacks and the exodus of Pandits that ensued has had a negative consequence and may now be used to move other Hindus to Kashmir, he said.

Shahid Comrade, the General Secretary of the Pakistan-USA Freedom Forum, who was at the protest, said in an interview that his group opposed the revocation of the Kashmir's special status.

Comrade is officially the last name of the man, who wore a red T-shirt with slogans in support of Kashmir's independence and has been active in labour and other progressive causes in New York City.

Giving a back-handed compliment, he said that he was "surprised that India, which has never had a dictatorship like Pakistan, which has a history of CIA-backed dictatorships, would take such a step on Kashmir".

(Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@.in and followed on Twitter @arulouis)

( With inputs from IANS )

Tags: kashmirSyed HaiderPanditpakistanus
Open in App

Related Stories

InternationalUS President Donald Trump to Meet Pakistan Army Chief General Asim Munir in Washington DC Over Lunch

MumbaiMumbai: Bomb Threat Call to US Consulate Traced to Mentally Unstable Youth Upset Over Visa Rejection

InternationalPakistan Gives Nuclear Bomb Threat to Israel If It Nukes Iran, Says Top Iranian Official Mohsen Rezaei

InternationalPakistani National Accused in Plot to Shoot New York Jewish Centre Extradited From Canada to US

MumbaiRam-Sita Profile Pics, Honey Traps and Leaks: Shocking Spy Plot Uncovered by Maharashtra ATS

International Realted Stories

International"His own desire to win Nobel Peace Prize": Ex-Pentagon official Michael Rubin slams Trump

InternationalFlight carrying 110 Indian citizens evacuated from Iran arrives in Delhi

InternationalPM Modi, Croatian PM hold wide-ranging talks to boost bilateral ties

InternationalCongress MP Shashi Tharoor seeks MEA help for Indian mountaineer stranded on Mount Denali

International"Diplomatic rhetoric...everyone sees Pakistan for what it is, except perhaps Donald Trump": Former Pentagon official Michael Rubin on Asim Munir's US visit