The Hurriyat, headed by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, on Tuesday welcomed the “shift towards good neighbourly relations” between India and Pakistan and offered to extend “full support to all the initiatives aimed at bringing peace and prosperity and a fair and peaceful resolution of the Kashmir dispute”.
“The agreement on adhering to the ceasefire on the Line of Control and the subsequent statements and actions indicate a positive shift in the relations between the two neighbours. This is being observed with anticipation by the people of J&K, who are deeply affected by the state of the relations between the two neighbours as they are for the past seven decades striving for a resolution to the Kashmir conflict,” a spokesman of the Mirwaiz said in a statement.
The Hurriyat said it sees the recent measures as the first step in the direction of a meaningful dialogue for the peaceful resolution of the Kashmir conflict.
The spokesman said the Hurriyat was ready to extend full support to all the initiatives between the two countries “that aim at bringing peace and prosperity to all the people of the subcontinent and seek a fair and peaceful resolution of the Kashmir dispute”.
“The Hurriyat also believes that unless on the ground in Kashmir an atmosphere free of fear, repression and human rights violations is not permitted, efforts at good neighbourly relations will not bear fruit,” the spokesman said.
The Hurriyat has called for bringing a change on the ground “by releasing all the political prisoners and youth from the jails and house detentions”.
“The random arrests and slapping of the Public Safety Act on youth and policy of intimidation and harassment through agencies should end. Deaths and destruction during encounters is deeply disturbing and should be immediately stopped,” the spokesman said.
