JAMMU: Coming down heavily on the All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) leaders, who were loath to call themselves Indians, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Faroog Abdullah, today asked them to leave the country. He also reiterated his stand on converting the present Line of Control between India and Pakistan into international border. Addressing a press conference, here, Abdullah said, “Our doors and windows are open for talks and I am not going to close them but if the APHC leaders still hanker for Pakistan, they are welcome to go there,” He added, ‘I will make way for them.” Reacting sharply to senior APHC leader Abdul Gani Lone’s criticism of the National Conference victory, the Chief Minister said, “Lone has not achieved any success in the Valley despite the murder of about 50,000 people in the last seven years.”
“He has only succeeded in taking away children from mothers, husbands from women and brothers from sisters, besides destroying property worth billions of rupees,” Faroog charged, adding that Lone should be tried for all these heinous crimes, On the APHC charge about his being an Indian agent, Farooq said, “T am an agent of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, which is an integral part of India”. Pointing out that the people had rejected the APHC by ignoring its appeal to boycott the Assembly polls; he said the polling percentage in the valley would have been much higher had there been no fear of the gun.
When asked about his stand on the Line of Control, Faroog said it should be converted into a permanent border between the two countries. He brushed aside the possible objections from Pakistan, saying these should not come in the way of our efforts toward peace between the two countries. Dwelling on the subject of autonomy, Faroog said its contours would be discussed with the Center. Pointing out that a committee headed by former Union Minister Karan Singh had been set up for the purpose, he said various issues, including the instrument of accession as also the Delhi accords of 1952 and 1975, needed to be studied.
Article extracted from this publication >> October 23, 1996
