Dr Fai rejects Modi’s economic package, terms it to hide disputed nature of held Kashmir

WASHINGTON, Nov. 9 (APP): The Kashmiri leader of international repute, Dr Ghulam Nabi Fai, has rejected a recent aid and economic package announced by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for Indian-held Kashmir and said it could not hide the dispute over the sovereignty of the land and people of Kashmir.
“Prime Minister Modi should realize that money can certainly solve
some of the problems caused by last year’s flood,” said US-based Kashmiri leader in a statement. “But it will not remove the ever-present and destabilizing atmosphere of oppression, the violence in the streets,
and the persistent trauma of rape, murder and disappearances that have
been the hallmark of India’s history in Kashmir.”
The attempt to disguise the true problem of Kashmir by locking up the
voices and spirit of resistance to Indian oppression did not make it go away, Dr. Fai said and added that all the problems faced by the people of Kashmir cannot be hidden by all the cosmetics that $12 billion can purchase.
The Kashmiri leader said that Modi’s visit was carefully choreographed
to show that he had been given a warm welcome by people. These people included thousands of police personnel in plain clothes, daily wagers, non-Kashmiri employees who had come from outside Kashmir, from places such as Bihar.
“It was no surprise to the local residents of Srinagar when they found
out that the non-Kashmiri (Behari) employees did not show up to work. They had been detoured and corralled into listening to the prime minister who was otherwise going to standing before a lot of empty seats.”
Dr. Fai said that curfew-like restrictions were imposed in Srinagar and
hundreds of leaders of the resistance were detained to prevent them from leading a march which was expected to attract more than a million Kashmiris. The march was called by Syed Ali Geelani and was endorsed by all including Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Mohammad Yasin Malik, Shabir Ahmed Shah and others.
“It has been the tragedy that the Indian leadership not listens to
the saner voices. India’s obduracy has never helped resolve the Kashmir dispute. And Narendra Modi is no different,” he added.
Dr. Fai said that it was the basic principle of international relations
that when the parties are not able to resolve the conflict, then it is always better to listen to saner elements beyond the parties who are directly involved in the conflict.
He recalled that even the US President Barack Obama has also said that
the resolution of Kashmir is in the interest of the world peace.
Referring to the package announced by Prime Minister Modi, the Kashmiri
leader said that mere sloganeering, economic packages and cricket diplomacy will never solve the Kashmir problem. “Kashmir is a political issue which needs a political solution.”
Dr. Fai called for an immediate intervention of the international
community to bring the violence in Kashmir to a quick end, and said the people of international standing such as Dr. Kofi Annan can facilitate a process to resolve the long-running dispute.
He repeated the recent peace initiative presented by Prime Minister
Nawaz Sharif at the UN General Assembly relating to demilitarization of Jammu and Kashmir on both sides of the Cease-fire Line. He said a political dialogue process should be immediately initiated between all parties concerned — India, Pakistan and the leadership of the people of Jammu & Kashmir – to set a stage for a democratic and peaceful solution.