‘Kashmir dispute should be resolved in view of aspirations of Kashmiris

SRINAGAR, April 30: In occupied Kashmir, the All Parties Hurriyet Conference Chairman, Syed Ali Geelani, and General Secretary, Shabbir Ahmad Shah, have said that the Kashmir dispute should be resolved in its historical perspective keeping in view the aspirations of the Kashmiri people.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the two leaders were reacting to the recent statement of the UN Peace Building Commission Chairman, Macharia Kamau, that the Kashmir dispute will be resolved in the context of the local domestic political environment between Pakistan and India.
Syed Ali Geelani in a statement in Srinagar termed Macharia Kamau’s remarks as ambiguous, saying that respecting the wishes and sacrifices of Kashmiri people was more important than the political and local situations. He said that the statement of the UN official reflected double standard of the World Body and also negated its basic purpose and responsibilities. He maintained that Kashmir is the oldest dispute of the world and the biggest hurdle in peace in South Asia.
Shabbir Ahmed Shah in his statement rejected the assertion of Macharia Kamau as unrealistic. He said that Kashmir was not a bilateral or a border dispute between Pakistan and India but an issue pertaining to the right to self-determination of more than 13 million Kashmiris.
Kashmir Centre for Social and Development Studies, a civil society group, at a meeting in Srinagar termed the Indian authorities’ plan to construct shelters for homeless non-state subjects in occupied Kashmir as part of its strategy to change the demographic composition of the territory. The meeting was attended among others by Shakeel Qalandar, Z G Mohammad, Zareef Ahmad Zareef, Javaid Iqbal, Abdul Majeed Zargar and Quratul Ain.-KMS