REGIONAL

‘State-land’ evictions: Hurriyat demands the ‘persecutory’ demolition campaign to end

By News Desk

February 06, 2023

On Monday, the Mirwaiz-led Hurriyat Conference released a statement concerning the ongoing ‘state-land’ eviction drive carries on by the J-K administration.

The Hurriyat called the ongoing eviction and demolishing campaign a ‘persecutory’ measure to dispossess people and urged that that the campaign be stopped forthwith. Hurriyat also address the former Pakistani military general Parvez Musharraf’s demise and said that he approached Kashmir with an open mind.

“The eviction and demolition drive being carried out by the authorities is causing deep anguish and distress among people, seriously impacting their life and livelihood,” the Hurriyat said.

It added that one after another “persecutory measures is being taken to dispossess people and make them helpless.” APHC called on the authorities to immediately end it and spare the people.

All Parties Hurriyat Conference led by incarcerated Mirwaiz of Kashmir, Umar Farooq, expressed condolences to the family of the former president of Pakistan General Parvez Musharraf on his demise.

APHC said that Pervaiz Musharraf broke from the past to reach out to the Government of India with an open mind to resolve the Kashmir issue while putting the spotlight on the aspirations and sentiments of the people of J&K as important stakeholders of the conflict.

“His initiative was reciprocated in kind by the late Indian PM Vajpayee. And for the first time, Kashmiri leadership on both sides of the line of the divide got an opportunity to talk and listen to each other and put their perspective and aspirations before both the governments of India and Pakistan in the ensuing talks,” it said.

It also said that despite tremendous pressure and personal losses suffered by APHC leadership, “it supported this initiative wholeheartedly seeing in it a possible and a fair solution to the lingering Kashmir issue, the cause of incessant violence and bloodshed in the nuclear neighbourhood of India, Pakistan and China.”

It is extremely sad, especially for the people of J&K that the process got derailed over time and the opportunity was lost, said the APHC.

APHC also said it believes that progress and development are unlikely to be realised in places of conflict and hostility within boundaries, and in neighbourhoods, so it always bats for communication /dialogue among people and states as a means to conflict resolution and the subsequent benefits of witnessing peace and progress.

APHC said that its chairman and Mirwaiz of J&K completed three and a half years of illegal and enforced house detention on 5th February. Mirwaiz Umar was incarcerated on 4th August 2019.

APHC strongly denounced this “extra-judicial incarceration, which has snatched away all his basic rights and asks the authorities to release Mirwaiz and all other political prisoners.”