Hurriyat drops demand for int’l mediation in Kashmir

Diplomatic honchos at South Block have a reason to smile as the moderate faction of the Hurriyat Conference has climbed down from its stated position and agreed to drop the demand of international mediation for solving Kashmir issue provided they will be associated with the peace process at a later stage.

“The All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC)  is willing to forgo international facilitation, provided both the governments of India and Pakistan agree that the APHC leadership will be fully associated with the peace process at a later stage,” Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said while speaking at the interactive dialogue and  roundtable in Geneva.

The event entitled ‘Self-Determination & Democracy (A Kashmir Scenario)’ was organised by the Europe-based Kashmir Centre in association with the International Human Rights Association of American Minorities (IHRAAM).

Hurriyat has been seeking third party intervention by world powers, the UN or the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) to solve the Kashmir issue. However, the move has always been opposed by New Delhi, which has termed Kashmir a bilateral issue between India and Pakistan and third party intervention as interfernce into their internal affairs.

The Hurriyat Conference also wants to solve the Kashmir issue either by implementing UN resolutions or tripartite talks involving all the three parties — India, Pakistan and Kashmir.

“The principle of self-determination and the maintenance of international peace and security are inseparable. The denial of self-determination to the people of Kashmir has brought India and Pakistan to the brink of nuclear catastrophe. The denial of self-determination has brought death and destruction to the people of Kashmir,” he said.

Mirwaiz noted that India and Pakistan have negotiated bilaterally over Kashmir without result for over 64 years, and even slow learners would conclude that a new formula is necessary for progress.