Srinagar, Jan. 18 (TNS): Hurriyat leaders on Thursday claimed that Indian Army Chief General Bipin Rawat’s statement on occupied Kashmir was an “acceptance of facts”, but said there cannot be a military solution to the Kashmir issue.
General Rawat said yesterday that the people in Kashmir had realised that it was very difficult to secede from India and they were also getting tired of militancy.
Reacting to the statement, the Hurriyat, at a joint press conference, said it was a clear indication that General Rawat had accepted the fact that the majority of the people in Jammu and Kashmir “are demanding their right to self- determination and freedom”. “This statement is an admission of what the people of Kashmir want.
This is a clear indication that he has accepted the fact that the majority of the people of occupied J-K are demanding their right to self-determination and ‘azadi’ (freedom)…,” Mirwaiz Umar Farooq told reporters at his Nigeen residence here.
The Mirwaiz, the head of the moderate faction of the Hurriyat Conference, was flanked by Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chief Yasin Malik. Hurriyat
Conference chairman, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, addressed the presser telephonically.
The three have come together on a united platform under the name of Joint Resistance Leadership. The Mirwaiz said Indian Army chief’s statement was a clear indication of New Delhi’s policy on Kashmir. He said there cannot be a military solution to the Kashmir issue.
“Let it be absolutely clear that the Kashmir issue cannot be resolved (and) Kashmiris cannot be pushed to the wall, thorough intimidation, force or coercion,” he said.
