Repeatedly advocated engagement: Hurriyat
Hurriyat Conference, led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, today said it has repeatedly advocated engagement and dialogue with the government as it believes talks are the only way to ensure peace and stability in J&K.
The Hurriyat was reacting to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’ remarks on Sunday that after the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani in 2016, he, as the Home Minister had led a parliamentary delegation to meet separatists, but they shut their doors.
In a statement, the Hurriyat said certain facts need to be reiterated to set the record straight. “In September 2016, Mirwaiz was detained at the Chesmashahi sub-jail. A letter was handed over to him by the jail authorities from Mehbooba Mufti written in her capacity as the PDP chief and not as the CM, requesting him to meet with a visiting delegation of opposition MPs and talk to them,” the Hurriyat said.
It said AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, a member of the visiting delegation, came to see Mirwaiz in the sub-jail and during the meeting, Owaisi told Mirwaz that a delegation of MPs wants to meet the Hurriyat leadership regarding the situation in the Valley.
“Mirwaiz requested Owaisi to ask the government to stop killings and allow Hurriyat leadership to discuss the situation first before they decide if they can collectively talk to the delegation, and figure out if the opposition MPs can help in long-term engagement or if it is just another attempt at crisis management which will be dumped once the crisis is over as past experiences have shown,” the statement said.
The Hurriyat said Mirwaiz told Owaisi that no separatist leader was in a position to take a decision individually regarding the situation. “Owaisi agreed to it and said that he will convey this request to the government and left. After that, nothing was heard of it,” the Hurriyat added.
The statement said the Hurriyat is surprised to know for the first time that the initiative was taken at the behest of the Centre. “Even at its own peril and despite the huge personal costs borne by Hurriyat leaders and their families for such engagements, the Hurriyat never shied away from them as it firmly believes that this is the only way to ensure peace and stability in the region,” the statement said.
