Hurriyat welcomes announcement on Indo-Pak Foreign Secretary talks

Welcoming the proposed foreign secretary-level talks between India and Pakistan next month, moderate Hurriyat Conference today said it was ready to extend its support to any initiative aimed at peaceful resolution of Kashmir issue.

"The resumption of talks at foreign secretary level (between India and Pakistan) is a welcome step. We hope that a dialogue at Prime Ministerial level will be initiated between the two countries very soon to move forward on the resolution of Kashmir issue," Hurriyat Chairman Mirwaiz Umer Farooq said addressing a Friday congregation at Jamia Masjid in downtown Srinagar.

He said Kashmir issue is not an economic or boundary dispute but a political and human issue which needs a bold and farsighted approach at the political level for its peaceful resolution.

"If India and Pakistan will move forward in resolution of Kashmir issue, Hurriyat is ready to extend all possible support for its success," the Hurriyat chairman said.

Foreign Secretaries of India and Pakistan will meet on August 25 in Islamabad to discuss the way forward in bilateral ties, which have made no headway since the interruption of dialogue process nearly two years ago. The Mirwaiz spoke against the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA).

The Hurriyat chairman also read out a resolution on the occasion, condemning "Israel's aggression" and urged the United Nations, OIC and international community to take effective measures to check it.

The resolution also urged BJP-led NDA government at the Centre to take necessary measures for resolving Kashmir issue in accordance with the wishes and aspirations of the people of the state.

The Mirwaiz also condemned rise in drug addiction, immoral activities and waywardness in the soceity and asked the religious leaders, intellectuals, parents and youths to come forward to eradicate the menace.

Meanwhile, hardline Hurriyat Conference chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani condemned the alleged crackdown on the residence of its leaders.

He alleged that nearly a dozen leaders of the amalgam including his close associate and Tehreek-e-Hurriyat General secretary Mohammad Ashraf Sehrai, Hurriyat spokesman Ayaz Akbar and secretary public relations Altaf Ahmad Shah have either placed under house arrest or detained at local police stations in different parts of the Valley.