IMFUAR meets Shah at his residence

Srinagar: At his Sanat Nagar residence, the Associate-Director of the ‘International Movement for Fraternal Union Among Races Mr Pal Beersmans and consultant Mulder today held a detailed meeting with Hurriyat Conference Jammu Kashmir leader Shabir Ahmad Shah.

Shabir Ahmad Shah deliberated the delegation about the ongoing freedom struggle and the excessive use of force and oppression by the government to curb the movement by citing the fresh example of killing of a youth Arshad Aziz Shah in Sopore by forces. He said thousands of people including resistance leaders continue to languish in jails naming fewincluding Mushtaq-ul-Islam, Masarat Alam Bhat, Dr Muhammad Qasim Faktoo, Muhammad Shafi Shariati, Ghulam Quadir, Nazir Ahmad Sheikh and Muhammad Ayoub Dar. He said the local collaborators of tyrant Indian rulers are surpassing the records of Halaku Khan and Czengiz Khan in inflicting atrocities upon the people. When asked about the solution to the long pending dispute of Kashmir, Shabir Ahmad Shah said the issue is lingered due to the non-serious approach adopted by the United Nations and European Union.

“Had UN and EU expressed seriousness, the Kashmir issue would have been resolved long ago. But they didn’t show any interest in resolving this issue,” Shah said.

Regarding the expectations from Modi-Nawaz meet, Shah said we are in favor of Indo-Pak friendship and believe that until or unless there is a friendship between the two, the issue of Kashmir is almost impossible to get resolved but Shah was quick to add that it is Kashmir dispute which is the bone of contention between the two nations and this issue really needs to get addressed for the betterment of the people of both nations.

Shah also made it clear that Kashmir issue can be resolved only through two means, by implementing the UN resolutions or through the tripartite dialogue. Asked about the return of Kashmiri Pandits, Shah said their claim to this land is same as that of a Kashmiri Muslim but rejected the plans of providing separate settlements to the Pandit community. “This will only create barrier between the two communities. This is a well-planned conspiracy to change the demography of Jammu and Kashmir. Kashmiri Pandits should return back to their respective areas and live with peace with their Muslim brethren as they used to live in past,” he said.

Asked about the ties of Hurriyat Conference Jammu Kashmir with Hurriyat Conference led by Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Shabir Ahmad Shah said we both are against the forcible occupation of India; both demand the implementation of UN resolution for resolving the Kashmir issue and are in favor of tripartite dialogue. “We both will work in collaboration on mutually concerned issues,” Shah added.