Polls won't solve Kashmir issue, need dialogue: Hurriyat chairman

Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq on Friday said that holding assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir would not solve the Kashmir issue and advocated for peaceful means of outreach and dialogue to address the matter.

The religious and separatist leader, who was allowed to offer Friday congregational prayers at the Jamia Masjid in the Nowhatta area of Srinagar after over a month, claimed that he was put under house arrest and his movements were curtailed.

Delivering the sermon, he said election and "resolution of the Kashmir issue" were two different things.

"Civic elections in a Union Territory that Jammu and Kashmir was downgraded to in 2019 is limiting in giving any real power to its residents. In Jammu and Kashmir, it was rendered almost meaningless after further amendments were made to the Reorganisation Act, giving further sweeping executive powers to the lieutenant governor.

"Yet the kind of disempowerment and dispossession that we have witnessed since August 2019, the people of Jammu and Kashmir have some hope that it may give them some relief and say in their daily matters," the Mirwaiz said.

The Hurriyat Conference chairman said, "We believe that civic elections for governance are no means to resolve this matter (Kashmir issue) and do not represent people's aspirations and sentiments with regard to the conflict."

He said it was "unfortunate" that at this crucial juncture, the regional political organisations and individuals could not jointly fight the great challenges before the people of the region.

"I hope that after the election results, these political parties and individuals will rise to the occasion and collectively prioritise peoples' interest and safeguard their rights, rather than personal and party interests," he added.

The separatist leader stressed that seeking peaceful resolution of the Kashmir issue "is not our weakness, but our strength".

Commenting on the Israel-Palestine conflict, the Mirwaiz said the conflict is consuming the region and putting the entire world at great risk.

"The military domination of Israel and its refusal to resolve the conflict in a just and peaceful manner by accepting the natural rights of Palestinians over their land, and instead choosing force and military might, has made the whole region vulnerable leading to deaths of thousands of civilians including children which is deeply distressing," he said.

While the US is arming Israel with bombs and missiles and promoting its own arms industry, it is calling for a ceasefire, the Hurriyat leader said.

"These military powers just want an arms market, so conflicts are a great opportunity for them. We don't want such a situation in this region. That is why we repeatedly advocate peaceful means of outreach and dialogue.

"We already have the previous framework of dialogue from Vajpayee ji's and Manmohan Singh ji's time to begin with and work around," the Hurriyat chairman added.