The Hindu : 'PDP exploiting sentiments of Kashmiris'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Apr 27, 2003

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'PDP exploiting sentiments of Kashmiris'

By Shujaat Bukhari

PTI

The senior Jamaat-e-Islami leader and former Hurriyat chairman, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, who arrived in Srinagar on Saturday, being greeted by a well-wisher.

SRINAGAR APRIL 26. The senior Hurriyat Conference leader and Jamat-e-Islami ideologue, Syed Ali Shah Geelani today accused the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) of ``exploiting the sentiments of Kashmiris'' and said the ``healing touch'' policy of the Government will not succeed.

He condemned the recent massacre at Nadimarg saying ``we are against all sorts of terrorism'.

Mr. Geelani who arrived here after 11 months of detention and treatment outside Kashmir, reiterated that it was not elections but a ``peaceful and purposeful dialogue'' that would solve the Kasmir problem.

He said the National Conference was thrown out of power because it ``paid for its oppressive measures'' against the people and ``the PDP exploited the situation to come to power''. ``Mufti's PDP used the situation as a launching pad to achieve its goal of grabbing power'' he declared, while addressing the workers of Jamat-e-Islami and Hurriyat at his residence here.

He ridiculed the `healing touch' policy of Chief Minister, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and said ``you are destined to fail in this as you are not using the natural process to heal the wounds''.

Appointment letters or ex-gratia relief would not solve the Kashmir problem, he said.

The former Hurriyat chairman said that even on the issue of releasing prisoners, the Mufti Government failed to keep its promise as New Delhi did not allow it to do so.

Referring to the Nadimarg massacre, he said ``it was barbaric and we strongly condemn it''. He also condemned the attacks on the Raghunath temple, Akshardam and Kaluchak and said ``these killings were against the humanity''.

``We are against terrorism, that is why we say stop it here against the innocent people'' he said and questioned the recent statement of Prime Minister, A.B. Vajpayee who talked about protecting humanity, democracy and Kashmiriyat.

``Humanity is bleeding in Kashmir and Mr. Vajpayee should know'', he said, alleging that ``security forces were involved in human rights violations''.

Mr. Geelani who was arrested by the police on June 9 last year and lodged in Ranchi jail for over eight months was operated upon in Mumbai after being released on parole.

He was received at the airport by the Hurriyat chairman, Abdul Gani Bhat and Mohammad Yasin Malik and Moulvi Abbas Ansari.

The Hurriyat leader, however, reiterated his own stand of granting ``right to self-determination to Kashmiris''.

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