Mirwaiz Umer Farooq calls for Manmohan-Nawaz meet during UN Assembly

SRINAGAR: Moderate Hurriyat Conference chairman MirwaizUmerFarooq on Monday appealed to the Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan to end violence along the Line of Control (LoC) and take "bold steps" to resolve Kashmir issue.


"Except for those who do not want peace in the region, nobody will gain if the present situation along the LoC is allowed to worsen...it (ceasefire violations) threatens to cause a setback to your intended efforts to work with each other to put India and Pakistan on the path towards peace," Mirwaiz told reporters here.

Releasing a letter addressed to the Premiers of India and Pakistan, Mirwaiz appealed to both the countries to de-escalate the growing tension and engage in a direct dialogue with each other.

"At a time when mistrust and hostilities are increasing, we feel that it is incumbent on the leadership of India and Pakistan to engage more directly, more urgently and more effectively in dialogue with one another," he wrote in the letter.

The Hurriyat chairman said any decision to abandon the path of dialogue would be reckless.

"Indeed, it risks pushing south Asia towards the dangerous abyss of renewed confrontation, increased hostility, regional instability and even nuclear crisis," he said.

Mirwaiz called upon leadership of both the countries to demonstrate statesmanship and take "bold and visionary decision".

"If bold and visionary decisions are taken today, they could yield an entirely new reality for the region. If India and Pakistan are able to engage with each other to improve ties and peacefully resolve their differences and if they are able to focus on a peaceful resolution of Kashmir conflict, a new era of stability and prosperity could be unleashed," he said.

Supporting a meeting between the two Prime Ministers on the sidelines of UN General Assembly next month, Mirwaiz appealed Manmohan Singh and Nawaz Sharif not to allow the recent developments to hold back a renewed effort to engage in a process of dialogue.

"Even if it involves some political risks and even if there are additional negative incidents, you must proceed ahead and meet directly with each other and start working to reduce the current level of mistrust and defuse the present tension along the LoC and elsewhere in the region," he said.

He suggested the two countries to take a leaf out of Israel-Palestine dialogue to commit in making a new beginning towards the peaceful resolution of Kashmir.

Seeking an active engagement of Kashmiris in the dialogue process, the Hurriyat chairman said "as masters of our own destiny, Kashmiris have a rightful place at the table and a primary decision making role in any negotiation process on Kashmir."