The Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL) comprising Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Mohammad Yasin Malik held a crucial meeting at Hyderpora on Monday.A statement issued to GNS said the leadership commended people on their steadfastness and unity in strongly opposing the tinkering with hereditary state subject law being challenged in the Supreme Court of India by “anti-Kashmir” agencies and organizations. “The people of J&K have always stood up and resisted every move of occupation and subjugation thrust upon them,” they said.“It speaks volumes about the courage and character of the Kashmir nation that despite all out assaults by the Indian state with the assistance of local collaborators; NC, PDP and all others through extreme repression propaganda and subversion, this small nation is firmly and consistently engaged in the pursuit of its goal of the fundamental right to decide its destiny – the right to self-determination. The heart rendering sacrifices and resistance being offered by a people young and old men women and children especially during the last 30 years is our asset and guiding light that we can never betray,” the leaders said.They said that “the followers of Chanakya are using all means and methods in the book to maintain their authority and forcibly rule over us”.“We are being threatened through the judicial route where our very identity and disputed status is being put at stake by proposing to alter the demography of our state,” they said.
Geelani, Mirwaiz and Malik said, “While the Damocles sword is kept hanging over us on this issue, they now want to thrust and enforce panchayat and municipal elections upon us through additional deployment of lakhs of forces under the pretext of lapse of developmental funds. It can’t get more ironic. Surely the GoI is not so gullible as to think that despite all the physical and psychological pain and trauma that they inflict on people of Kashmir any Kashmiri will buy their lapse of funds for development argument and willingly participate in this act of manipulation and deceit. These enforced elections are nothing but another assault on people to harass them and cause them further inconvenience and agony.”“The people of Kashmir know too well that when it comes to J&K, all power rests with New Delhi and all decisions flow from there so much so that in 70 years since 1947 J&K is a colony ruled by India. Each so-called election that has been held here, from panchayat to Indian parliament, has only been a means to further strengthen New Delhi’s hold on J&K, and steadily but surely weaken the sovereignty of the people of J&K,” JRL said.The leadership said any participation in elections is propagated as people’s verdict in favour of India and hence they are used as a means to dilute J&K disputed status and undo the holding of a referendum as promised by India at the UN.“These so called elections only bring prosperity to an opportunist class of people whom India has patronized in Kashmir,” they said, adding that New Delhi has never believed in empowering the people of J&K or the institutions here.JRL said “it wants to convey to GoI the loud and clear message by the people of Kashmir that they boycott any kind of participation in elections and instead only demand the right to self-determination”. (GNS)