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Mukhtar Ahmed in Srinagar
The All-Parties Hurriyat Conference chairman Prof Abdul Gani Bhat on Monday again rejected the possibility of the conglomerate participating in the upcoming assembly election saying the Kashmiri people had not made sacrifices to 'bring us to power'.
"They have laid down their lives for right to self-determination," Bhat told rediff.com in an exclusive interview.
"Election is no substitute for a referendum. When you are in East Timor you straightaway organise a referendum to ascertain the political wishes of the people. But when you are in Kashmir you talk in terms of an election. This is upsetting. This is disgusting," he said. "The people in East Timor chose to fight for freedom; we chose to fight for freedom. Why draw a line?"
Asked about the role of the J&K state assembly, Bhat shot back: "The state assembly has done nothing and achieved nothing in the past with regard to the future disposition of Jammu and Kashmir. It (election) is repetition of an exercise, which is not going to produce any result with regard to the future disposition of the state."
"Farooq Abdullah has a two-third majority in the state assembly. What has he done? He passed an autonomy resolution in the state assembly, which was rejected by the Centre. It was not even a bill," he said.
Bhat claimed that infiltration across the Line of Control has completely stopped.
"The Pakistanis have stopped infiltration and there is not a shadow of doubt about it. But there can be no guarantee of a perfect closure of LoC; that not even birds will be allowed to cross. This is not possible."
Accusing the Indian government of not doing anything, the Hurriyat chief said, "What has India done in Kashmir? It has not halted the human rights violations. Has the bloodshed of innocents stopped? No. The government has not put an end to custodial killings. This is not contributing towards buying peace. Indian security forces should withdraw to the barracks."
He said there is no alternative for India and Pakistan, but to begin the dialogue process. "India and Pakistan have fought three wars on Kashmir, never on property, never on river water dispute, never on cricket, never on the demolition of the Babri Masjid. But always on Kashmir," he said. "The two countries are extremely likely to fight another war on Kashmir, which may spell total disaster and this is what we want the Americans to understand."
He added that peace could be achieved only by addressing the 'dispute' on Jammu and Kashmir.
Responding to a question on the recent killing of innocent people in Jammu the Hurriyat chief said, "We as a political forum had suggested that an international agency be constituted at the UN level to look into the mass killings in Jammu and Kashmir so that the ugly faces involved are unmasked."
"And I agree that anyone who kills an innocent person, whether a Muslim or a Sikh or a Hindu, cannot be a freedom fighter," he added.
ALSO SEE: Hurriyat rules out participation in J&K polls
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