Senior leader of All Parties Hurriyat Conference, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has reiterated to continue his struggle for finding a peaceful resolution to the long-standing Kashmir dispute.

According to a Kashmir Media Service report on Saturday, in a media interview, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq lamented that despite over seven decades since the dispute over Kashmir began, a final settlement still remains elusive. He emphasized the importance of respecting the aspirations and will of the Kashmiri people and reaffirmed the Hurriyat’s dedication to peaceful methods of dialogue and cooperation to achieve a resolution.

He said, “The Hurriyat, formed in 1993, was a political initiative for supporting a political resolution of this long-standing issue on the democratic principle of respect for the aspirations and will of the people of J and K”. “The Hurriyat’s political endeavour remains favouring peaceful methods of dialogue and cooperation between the parties as means to a resolution”, he added.

He criticized India’s illegal actions of August 5, 2019 as having further complicated the issue and disempowered the people of IIOJK. He said, “The government of India made drastic unilateral changes and complicated the dynamics of the Kashmir issue in 2019. The alterations have further disempowered people”.

Referring to the events of post-1947, the Mirwaiz said, “The new neighbours (India and Pakistan) took the Kashmir problem to international fora, fought war three to four times and signed bilateral agreements. However, a final settlement still eludes us”.

He also criticized India’s attempt to project the ongoing parliamentary elections in IIOJK as a representation of the people’s will in the larger context of the Kashmir conflict.