Hurriyat chief Mirwaiz ahead of Lok Sabha results: ‘Hope for softer policy… if Centre takes one step, we’ll take two’

Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq on Friday urged the Centre to “open dialogue and deliberation” with the people of Kashmir. Allowed to lead prayers at Srinagar’s Jamia Masjid after four weeks, Mirwaiz emphasised “we hope that the new government at the Centre will shift to a softer policy and we can move forward with a humane and realistic approach.”

He said that the leadership of the Hurriyat Conference has always been in favour of dialogue and that “if the Centre takes one step, we will also take two.”

Stating that by next week a new government at the Centre will be formed, Mirwaiz said, “as for me and Hurriyat, the option for dialogue and deliberation for moving forward is the best bet. It is the course that I and my colleagues advocate and have always practiced, even at the cost of harm to us. If lasting peace and progress of people is our aim, our approach should also reflect that.”