Mirwaiz calls for strategy relook, introspection

Srinagar: Hurriyat Conference (M) chairman, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Wednesday stressed that pro-freedom leadership must re-look at its strategy vis-à-vis resolution of Kashmir issue and introspect “past mistakes and missed opportunities.”He was addressing a seminar—“Kashmir-a way forward”— organized by his-led Hurriyat faction at its Rajbagh headquarters today. Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front chairman, Yasin Malik, senior Hurriyat (M) leader, Professor Abdul Gani Bhat,  were among several other speakers who spoke on the occasion.“Change of strategy to reach the goal can be done, as has been witnessed with so many movements across the world. Introspection is a trait of vibrant nations. Therefore, we need to look back at our mistakes to rectify them and evaluate our strategy. At some point of time, all the sections of society including the pro-freedom leadership need to put their heads together and rethink the strategy,” Mirwaiz said.But this, Mirwaiz said, didn’t mean that “we should compromise on Azadi or right to self determination but simply look at how we can reach these goals.”“When we talk of Kashmir-a way forward— which by the way is the seminar of our title today— we are not talking of surrender or forgetting the past but just evaluation of the strategy,” he said.However, the strategy relook, Mirwaiz said, cannot done by the pro-freedom leadership on its own, and “the civil society  can take a lead in this while we can extend our full cooperation( to such initiatives).”Mirwaiz said the Kashmir dispute was unique in that usually a dispute has two parties but “here we have three parties involved.”Mirwaiz said that the civil society and pro-freedom leadership in Kashmir had “failed” to generate sympathy for “the Kashmir cause in mainstream India.”“There is no doubt that the majority in Kashmir harbours the pro-freedom sentiment , but it is ironic that now that the (pro-India) minority is referred to as mainstream. This is because the pro-freedom majority has failed regarding strategy, which is why the minority is referred to as the mainstream,” he said.“ It is a fact that the majority opinion in India is against our cause. You look at media debates, civil society discourse in India, at the most they will talk of human rights violations in Kashmir but skip the resolution of this issue.”“That’s why even today they blame Pakistan for the Kashmir unrest and see this issue through the prism of that country because we have not been able to present our view, sentiments before them,” he said while calling “Indian masses the key to Kashmir resolution because their mentality ultimately reflects in the policy of Indian establishment.”Mirwaiz also rejected the notion “being floated in certain circles that  Kashmir issue is linked to Afghanistan peace or Indo-Pak cooperation.”“ No, Kashmir dispute has its own identity; we have rendered huge sacrifices for it during the last six decades. Unfortunately, India and Pakistan have ignored Kashmiris during talks in this period. That’s why Hurriyat has always pressed for interengagement of all the parties to the dispute.”   Mirwaiz also called for taking into account the socio-economic problems of the people while “taking forward the freedom struggle,” saying the Kashmir issue is not “just a political issue today; it involves all the spheres of our life.”“Another factor is that there are different regions in Jammu and Kashmir; it’s not a homogenous (entity). So these are things that we need to look into.”“We have to understand that the (pro-freedom) sentiment   won’t die down but we just need to channelize it,” he said.