Former IoK CM calls for US mediation in Kashmir issue: HumSub.TV
Former IoK CM calls for US mediation in Kashmir issue: HumSub.TV: Former Indian occupied Kashmir (IoK) Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah has called for seeking the help of the United States in resolving the Kashmir issue.
“We stand for US mediation to come to an agreement as they did over the water dispute. It was settled by an American. It seems the time has come where America is able to settle this one too,” the National Conference chief said in an interview with an Indian newspaper on Wednesday.
In the interview – conducted before and after polling on April 9, which saw an abysmal turnout – Abdullah talked about the ground situation in the occupied valley, India’s strained relationship with Pakistan, and the current challenge to secularism.
In response to a question about the US’ offer to mediate on Kashmir, Abdullah stressed that nothing was achieved through bilateral efforts between India and Pakistan. “We feel today that if India makes no positive moves towards resolving the problem with Pakistan, we stand for US mediation to come to an agreement as they did over the water dispute. It was settled by an American. It seems the time has come where America is able to settle this one too,” he said.
“Let’s hope I win. My role will be to rope in all the elements in the Valley for a common agenda that could be presented to both India and Pakistan. Second, I will unite the Opposition in India to face jointly the communal threat,” the former CM IoK said, as he discussed how India and Pakistan can get closer in an interview with thehindu.com.
When asked if, in his four decades of political career, he ever felt that the Kashmir problem was getting closer to a solution, Abdullah responded, “The discussions with former Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf made us hopeful. We thought a solution was possible in the four-point formula. A former Pakistan Foreign Minister told me in Delhi that a solution was in hand. I met them abroad also. At that time, they were hopeful that a resolution would come.”
Discussing his sense of the ground situation, the former CM said he sees tremendous alienation. “The youth are up in arms. They do not fear for their lives. Every day, incidents are occurring in the Valley. There is an atmosphere of destruction. There has been no progress on many fronts, whether it’s power projects, talking to Hurriyat leaders as promised in the joint agreement (between the PDP and the BJP), and creating a conducive atmosphere for India-Pakistan talks.”
Abdullah stressed that Kashmir is being threatened by communal forces emerging in the nation and added that it is those forces that are being fought with. “Today, it is not about development or construction of tunnels, but those forces who are out to finish every other religion and have the supremacy of only one religion,” he said.
The National Conference chief responded to Jamaat-e-Islami’s (JeI) statement about only supporting him if he takes “concrete measures” for the welfare of Islam, by saying, “Yes, I am fighting not only for Islam but for the very existence of people of the entire country. Two young people bring their herd to a market (in Jharkhand) and goons hang them by the tree. They are saying they will put their gods’ pictures in the mosques. They want to thrust their code on us. Where is the Constitution of India?… Muslims of Kashmir have never been communal. Neither does Islam teach us communalism. It teaches us brotherhood and respect for other religions.”
Calling Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s thinking “totally different,” Abdullah said Vajpayee wanted to see India strive forward with all religions. “Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi doesn’t believe in Vajpayee’s phrase of Jamhooriyat, Insaaniyat and Kashmiriyat, to address the Kashmir problem. These are mere words. We have seen nothing in these years to prove that Mr. Modi is moving towards that…has there been any solid move by the Centre to start a dialogue with Pakistan? Just visiting the Pakistan Prime Minister on his birthday does not make any difference. The Centre has to grapple with the situation in Kashmir. And Pakistan is a part of it. You will never have peace here unless we are able to bring Pakistan on board.”
In an interview with the Indian media on April 11, the former CM IoK urged India to think of a political and not military solution to the Kashmir dispute before it ended up losing the valley. He made strong statements about the Indian government and said the violence and loss of lives during the Srinagar by-poll “are a tragedy and a failure of the government of the day.”
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