Mirwaiz: Make SAARC guarantor

Mirwaiz today returned to Delhi after a visit to Pakistan where he said he spoke to President Pervez Musharraf about his latest “self-governance” proposal.

Speaking exclusively to The Indian Express, Mirwaiz said: “It is very clear now that stated positions will not take us anywhere. There is a need to approach a permanent solution in a step by step manner.”

The Hurriyat chairman said the objective behind self-governance and demilitarisation was to give Kashmiris a sense of self-rule and the feeling that they were masters of their own destiny.

“We would take the proposals of self-governance and demilitarisation to all five regions of Kashmir so that people could get a better understanding of the idea. We will start the process from Jammu after Eid,” he added.

“Even in Jammu and Ladakh, where our (separatist) movement is not very strong, people have started showing enthusiasm about this idea. The people of Jammu and Ladakh, including Hindus and Buddhists, are putting aside fears that they don’t want to align themselves with the Hurriyat because it only talks on Pakistan’s behalf. The concept of self-governance is acceptable across Jammu and Kashmir,” Mirwaiz said.

The Hurriyat chairman said PM Manmohan Singh had been encouraging the Hurriyat to try and resolve the Kashmir problem. “Though the discussions about self-governance were at an initial stage, Hurriyat would like SAARC as a guarantor in a negotiated settlement on Kashmir,” Mirwaiz said, adding that there was no need to seek international guarantees from the US or UN. The chairman said the Hurriyat wanted to preserve the individual character and identity of all five Jammu and Kashmir regions, each of which have their peculiar problems.

Professor Abdul Gani Bhat and Bilal Lone travelled with Mirwaiz to Pakistan.