The Chairman of All Parties Hurriyet Conference, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has emphasised that India should take substantive steps if it is serious to resolve the Kashmir dispute through dialogue process.
Mirwaiz Umar Farooq in a media interview in occupied Srinagar said, "Dialogue cannot start till New Delhi takes some tangible steps to improve the ground situation. If India is serious about dialogue, it should first release all the Kashmiri prisoners, revoke the draconian laws and start withdrawal of troops."
He said that releasing prisoners, revoking draconian laws, withdrawing troops, allowing people-to-people contact and throwing open traditional routes of Jammu and Kashmir could pave way for the Kashmir solution. "Our ultimate aim is to achieve right to self-determination and we have got nothing to do with electoral politics. Elections and resolution of the Kashmir are entirely different issues." He said, Kashmir solution can be brought about through tripartite talks involving Pakistan, India and the Kashmiris.
The APHC Chairman described the autonomy and self-rule proposal of pro-India parties, National Conference and Peoples Democratic Party as ideas aimed at creating confusion. "Kashmiri people have not rendered sacrifices for jobs and economic packages. They have kept the freedom movement alive with their blood. Nothing short of the right to self-determination will be acceptable to the Kashmiris," he added. The Mirwaiz stated that if NC and PDP were serious about the resolution of the dispute over Kashmir then they should give up the power politics and join the pro-freedom camp.
The APHC Chairman maintained that Pakistan had always supported the Kashmir cause, adding that stable country was a must for the Kashmir settlement. Terming the recent statements of China as encouraging, he said, "China's acknowledgement that Kashmir is a disputed territory is a victory for Kashmiris.