Kashmir issue: All-party delegation told to involve Pakistan, Hurriyat

SRINAGAR: The all-party delegation of MPs, who are in Jammu and Kashmir to assess the ground reality in the state, got a taste of popular anger when it visited Tangmarg and the Shri Maharaja Hari Singh Hospital in Srinagar. The local populace complained about excesses of the security forces and demanded that the Kashmir dispute be resolved once and for all.

"When you kill a civilian in Maoist belt, you all apologise but what are you doing here," a young boy asked the delegation that home minister P Chidambaram led to Tangmarg, a small town that is gateway to Kashmir’s all-season picnic spot of Gulmarg. The town lost six civilians in the violent protests that has rocked the state for three months.

"You say Kashmir is your integral part but your forces have been butchering us." The boy said he was risking his life while speaking about these things. He told the team that chief minister Omar Abdullah could only come to the town because they allowed him.

People raised the issue of lack of employment opportunities and infrastructure and a young man concluded his remarks with a `Jai Hind,’ but the dominant sentiment was about resolving the Kashmir crisis and putting an end to the ‘excesses’ by the security forces.

"Doesn’t it pain you when somebody kills us because you say we are an integral part of you," another youth asked. It was suggested to the delegation that Kashmir should be accepted as a dispute and resolved once and for all with India, Pakistan and Hurriyat getting involved in negotiations.

The official spokesman for the delegation said, ‘’the people urged for starting a sustained and meaningful dialogue with open mind and heart with all stake holders to resolve the Kashmir imbroglio forever.’’

Chief minister Omar Abdullah said the state government made all efforts to ensure visiting lawmakers interact with all shades of opinion that exist in Kashmir. "I am happy that it worked and the delegation got views of every shade of opinion in the Valley," he told reporters at Tangmarg.

Prior to their visit to Tangmarg, some members of the delegation visited the Hazrtabal shrine. Their plan to a visit the Valley’s orthopaedic hospital was cancelled after protests broke out there. Some delegation members went to the Shri Maharaja Hari Singh Hospital, where trauma cases are referred to. While the media was barred from entering into the hospital, witnesses said the hospital resonated with ‘go India, go back’ and ‘we want freedom’ slogans forcing the team to conclude the visit within 10 minutes.