Hurriyat seeks US intervention in Kashmir

With US President Barack Obama visiting India next month, the moderate faction of Hurriyat Conference said it would launch a signature campaign on Monday, calling for America's intervention as a third party to resolve the Kashmir issue.

"The executive committee and the general council of the Hurriyat unanimously resolved to call for third party mediation as India and Pakistan have failed to make any progress with regard to the resolution of Kashmir issue," moderate Hurriyat chief Mirwaiz Umer Farooq told PTI after the meeting. He said there was a general concensus among the Hurriyat members that the United States should get involved in resolving the long pending dispute between the two nuclear armed rivals as per the wishes and aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

"We will be launching a signature campaign across the state from tomorrow calling for intervention of the US ahead of President Obama's visit to India," he said. Mirwaiz said third party intervention has now

become inevitable in resolving Kashmir issue as bilateralism has failed and another war between India and Pakistan can spell disaster for world peace. "The US has appointed special representatives to several conflict zones in the world and time has come that a special rapporteur is appointed for Kashmir also," he added. The Hurriyat chairman said the amalgam will step up its diplomatic efforts through various Kashmir centres in Brussels, London and US ahead of Obama's visit to India to highlight the urgency required in resolving Kashmir issue.

Mirwaiz said the Hurriyat has called for a complete strike on October 27 and urge the people to observe it as a "black day" against the landing of Indian army in Jammu and Kashmir on that day in 1947. "Hurriyat leaders will take out marches from district headquarters of the Valley towards the local office of the United Nations Military Observors Group (UNMOG) at Sonawar here to press for the demand of withdrawal of Indian army and other forces from the state," he said.