‘Azadi’ is our road map: Shah tells interlocutors

Srinagar: Senior Hurriyat Conference (M) leader and chairman Democratic Freedom Party Shabir Ahmad Shah Tuesday rejected New Delhi’s interlocutors’ talks offer, saying India needed to first create a “conducive atmosphere” for dialogue.

Addressing a press conference here, Shah said he had received a formal invitation from the interlocutors— journalist Dileep Padgoankar, academician Radha Kumar and former bureaucrat M.M Ansari— asking for a roadmap.

“But we fail to understand what sort of a roadmap they expect from us, when the whole world knows that the people here want Azadi,” he said.

Shah said the interlocutors had themselves recommended certain steps including demilitarization, release of political prisoners, etc,.

“They have acknowledged that the people of Kashmir want Azadi, Jammuites want Azadi from Kashmir and Ladakh wants Union Territory status  . Keeping in view the recommendations of their own interlocutors on Kashmir, I suggest New Delhi should conduct a referendum in the state so that the people’s opinion is established,” he said.

Shah emphasized that New Delhi has to act on the interlocutors’ recommendations regarding demilitarization, release of political prisoners, etc in order to create a conducive atmosphere for dialogue.” While harassment and intimidation continue on one hand we cannot talk of dialoge,” Shah said.

He also rejected the trifurcation of the state, saying many people in Jammu and Ladakh regions were also in favour of the resolution of Kashmir issue.

Shah said India was hoodwinking the world into believing that the pro-freedom leadership was not ready for a dialogue. “ |We are not against dialogue, but have learn from past experiences that bi-lateral talks are futile. We are in favour of dialogue in light of UN resolutions on Kashmir, but for that a conducive atmosphere needs to be created,” he said.

He said the international community was morally bound to press India for implementing the resolutions passed by UN on Kashmir.

Shah said during his condolence visits to families of youth killed or injured last year  he had realized the “tremendous responsibility” lying on the shoulders of the pro-freedom leadership to help those who lost their dear ones to government forces action last year.