Kashmir an integral part of India: Deoband clerics

A 11-point resolution adopted at the Kashmir conference here on Sunday accused the Centre and the J-K government of having failed to maintain peace,saying the “situation is getting from bad to worse”.

“We would like to assure the people of Kashmir that we as citizens of India share their grief and anguish and support there rightful demands and we do not consider that the interests of the Kashmiri people are separate from the interests of Indian Muslims,” the resolution said.

Separatists in J-K including the Hurriyat Conference have been pressing for an independent Kashmir or its merger with Pakistan.

The JuH also called for “thwarting the mission of enemy forces bent upon disintegration of Kashmir”,apparently referring to anti-India activities by Pakistan-based militant groups.

“We want Kashmiri representatives to talk to the Indian government and find a solution to their problem within the framework of the Indian Constitution,” JuH Secretary Niaz Ahmed Farooqui said on Monday.

Farooqui also said the Hurrriyat Conference was not invited but some clerics from J-K attended the meet.

“We wanted to highlight the problems faced by Kashmiri people and we want both sides (Kashmiri leaders and Centre) to to hold direct talks to end the current impasse,” he said.

He said a second Kashmir conference will be held in the national capital on October 31,following which a delegation will be send to the Valley.

In the resolution,the JuH demanded that the long pending legitimate demands of the Kashmiri people must be accepted within the framework of the Indian Constitution.

It said armed forces must be withdrawn and barricades lifted from civilian areas. The AFSPA and the Public Safety Act should also be lifted,it said.

The JuH demanded establishment of an independent commission of inquiry to probe “serious violations” of human rights and for tracing “thousands of lost and missing youth”.

It appealed to protesters to abjure violence and adopt democratic methods for their constitutional rights.

Kamal Farooqui,All India Muslim Personal Law Board member,said an overwhelming section of Kashmiris,particularly youths,wanted reconciliation and an end to the current wave of violence.

Asked about a section of separatists favouring Kashmir’s merger with Pakistan,he said no one wished this to happen.

Theologian and senior Jamiat member Maulana Abdul Hameed Nomani said,”Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India.”

Nomani went on to say that “being part of India is in the best interest of Kashmiri people.”

The JuH,in its resolution,said protesters nabbed without viable reason should be freed immediately and asked the security forces to avoid lethal methods of crowd control.