Senior leader of All Parties Hurriyat Conference Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has said that elections in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir cannot resolve the lingering Kashmir dispute.
According to Kashmir Media Service, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq in a media interview said the changes brought in by the Indian government post 2019 have taken all the powers from the elected legislature, and gave it to the lieutenant governor, who is an appointee of the Indian government.
He said he has faced significant restrictions since August 2019, including house arrest and limitations on his movements. ‘I was partially released from house arrest in September 2023 after legal intervention, yet my freedom remains constrained. I have to seek permission for any movement outside my residence, and since the announcement of elections, I have been placed under house arrest again. Therefore, I am not a fully free man, as my activities are monitored and restricted by the authorities and I can be detained anytime at home by them.’
To a query, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said in August 2019, drastic unilateral changes were executed. He added that without any care for the will of its people, New Delhi divided Jammu and Kashmir into two parts and downgraded it from a state to a union territory. ‘The constitutional commitment made to the people under Article 370 was withdrawn and people lost safeguards over land, jobs and resources guaranteed under Article 35A’, he lamented.
He said the changes were accompanied by increase in coercion and surveillance of people including arrests, and slapping of draconian Public Safety Act (PSA) and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), dismissals from government service, acquisition and attachment of their properties, severe communication gags social media and suppression of civil liberties.
To another question, he said the Hurriyat Conference represents the sentiments and aspirations of the people of Kashmir. It’s a fact that its organisational strength has been severely affected by crackdowns and arrests since 2017. ‘Many of our leaders and activists are incarcerated, and most constituents have been banned under the draconian UAPA,’ he deplored.
He said communication restrictions, surveillance, and media blackouts have further limited our functioning and outreach. He said he himself was under repeated house arrest. Despite these severe challenges, as long as both India and Pakistan claim J and K in its entirety, the Kashmir conflict remains unresolved and the sentiment of the people persist, Hurriyat’s relevance endures.
Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said his ability to communicate has been significantly hindered since 2019. Additionally, he said, Hurriyat statements are banned from publication in local and vernacular media, and even on social networks. These measures have curtailed our outreach and the ability to engage with the public and the media, he added.
To another query he said he wants to play a role in the resolution of this political and humanitarian issue and he does not see electoral politics which are basically for administrative and governance purpose, be of any help in that.
‘I don’t think any civic election can serve as a means to resolve the larger political issue. Since the age of 17 when my father was martyred and I became the Mirwaiz, I have followed his path which was later incorporated in the constitution of the Hurriyat Conference when it was formed, that is, the advocacy of engagement and deliberation to address the sentiment of people as the means of resolution. Resolution should be implemented through peace and cooperation rather than coercion or violence’, he maintained.
To another question the APHC senior leader said the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act of 2019, and the recent amendments to it have more or less rendered the elected legislature almost powerless, by granting broad and sweeping executive powers to the lieutenant governor appointed by the central government.
He said since 2019 he has mainly been confined to his house. ‘We remain open to dialogue and have held talks with Indian Prime Ministers Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh, we also reached out through media for engagement in 2014, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power,’ he said.
To yet another query, he said as long as both India and Pakistan claim J and K, the conflict persists. Even China, more so after 2019, has entered the conflict. There are international and bilateral commitments made by India and Pakistan on the conflict. Hurriyat believes that meaningful engagement among stakeholders is the peaceful way out of it. People of J and K are getting grinded in this conflict. It’s not just a political issue but also a humanitarian one that has consumed generations, he maintained.
He said it’s an issue of divided families and friends on both sides of Line of Control, of the return of Kashmiri Pandits to their homeland. ‘The lack of communication between India and Pakistan hinders the prospects for peace and reconciliation and affects us the most. That’s why we are vociferous advocates of talks’, he said.
To a question Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said Hurriyat Conference represents aspirations and sentiments of people. ‘As long as the sentiment is strong and the desire for justice prevalent among people, those who represent it will be there in spite of the pushback and hardships they may face. Individuals come and go, organisations also get made and unmade. The underlying reason and principle should be strong and fair’, he said.
He said the Hurriyat Conference through its efforts, will continue to seek a peaceful resolution to the Kashmir dispute through dialogue and political engagement and prosperity for the whole region.