JAMMU: Four Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front JKLF) activists, including a former acting chief of the organization, have described the abduction of foreign tourists in Srinagar as against the interest of ongoing Kashmir movement and appealed to their abductors to release them immediately.

Talking to media men soon after their release from the custody following grant of interim bails in their favor, former acting chief of the JKLF Mohamad Rafi alias “Nanna Ji,” Ali Mohamad Mir, Wajahat Bashir Qureshi and Mchrajudin Sheikh said the recent abductions of foreign tourists would be a setback to the ongoing movement of Kashmiris and asked abductors to immediately release the hostages, if they were real sympathizers of Kashmiri movement.

Favoring an unconditional dialogue between India, Pakistan and people of all regions of Jammu and Kashmir for a lasting solution to the Kashmir problem, they opposed the poll in the state describing such an exercise as futile and counterproductive in the present situation.

They said the people of Kashmir had lost faith in these farcical’ exercises which were conducted several times in the past also, but had failed to provide final solution to the problem.

In reply to a question on issue of ban on the holy Amamath Yatra next month, they said, “We had condemned such an action last year also as Islam does not allow interference into religious matters of others.”

Mohamad Rafi was arrested in April, 1991, on charge of killing four Air Force personnel while his three colleagues were in jails. Alleging Large-scale atrocities and violation of human rights by the security forces in Kashmir Valley, they said judicial orders were being flouted by the authorities.

They said despite their bail orders on June 28, 1995, by the designated TADA court, they were kept under illegal detention and released today only, They alleged total lack of medical facilities to the detainees in different jails in the state and inhumane treatment being meted out to them during detentions. Children between the age of 12 to 13 years were languishing in the jails. ‘On question of intergroup clashes between different militant outfits in Kashmir valley, they said though ideological difference existed. but bloodshed should end to take the movement to a logical conclusion of “azadi.” They also denied that foreign mercenaries were active in the valley and described the strength of foreign mercenaries as not more than 500 to 700 in the state.

Article extracted from this publication >>  July 28, 1995