secession to “azad” Kashmir under the constitutional umbrella of Pakistan with a porous border, facilitating easy trade, travel and communications between the people of the divided state, would not be a reasonable reward for the death of 40.000 Kashmiris rapes arson and custodial deaths in the valley during the past five years. We have launched a liberation struggle for securing the right of self-determination and not for seeking some political and economic concessions.” Geelani added
“It is a question of liquidation or liberation for Kashmiris and we have not faced bullets and atrocities from the security forces simply to get internal autonomy. Geelani explained.
On the role of the OIC Syed Geelani said:” We are thankful to all those who plead our case.” At the same time he conveyed his dismay over the role of the OIC saying that the Organization of Muslim Countries had not been able to plead the case of Kashmiris Muslims.
He said that under the current global situation the OIC was more interested in “promoting its trade and economic interest” than in “securing respect for Human rights”.
Asked to comment on the misuse of the gun by militants the senior Jamate-Islami leader said some government agents had infiltrated the insurgent camps and at the same time one cannot rule out the possibility of the guntoting youths having gone astray. “They are not farishtas (angels) and if they have misused the gun it is not as tragic as the abuse of human rights by the disciplined Indian security forces.”
Geelani, said the Jamat-e-Islami would cooperate with the Peoples’ League Supreme, Shabir Ahmed Shah’s call for uniting all the separatists forces under one umbrella. “We cannot support him but Jamat-c-Islami cannot destroy its identity.”
Regarding the government’s plan for holding the assembly elections to restore democracy in the state Geclani said, had the elections been the solution of the Kashmir problem it would have ended in 1951 when the first poll was held. He said besides this people had no faith in elections because they had always been “rigged” except the one in 1977. He hastened to add that in 1977 people voted for Sheikh Abdullah out of anger against India.
To a question he said he too had contested the assembly poll and he and his colleagues in Jamat-e-Islami were elected to the assembly but “our purpose was to raise the Kashmir issue on the floor of the House and subvert the system after emerging as the largest group in the assembly.”
Article extracted from this publication >> January 27, 1995
