Use overwhelming mandate to resolve Kashmir issue: Mirwaiz to Modi

SRINAGAR: Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq on Friday said the overwhelming mandate given to Bhartiya Janata Party in the parliamentary polls must be cashed as a big opportunity by PM Modi “to play a decisive role in the resolution of the Kashmir issue” which is consuming generations of Kashmiris on daily basis.

Addressing a mammoth gathering on Jumat-ul-Vida (last Friday of Ramdan) prayers at Jamia Masjid, Mirwaiz said “People of India overwhelmingly voted for Mr. Modi. This mandate gives PM Modi an opportunity and the power to play a decisive role in resolution of the issue. It is an opportune time to initiate political processes,” said the Mirwaiz,” reports The Hindu.

The BJP-led NDA won 303 out of 543 seats in the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls.

Mirwaiz believes that the Kashmir issue cannot be resolved militarily or through confrontation but by dialogue and Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s several offers of dialogue on the issue should be seriously considered by the new Modi government.

“Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s oft-repeated offer of dialogue should be considered by the new dispensation in New Delhi as the way forward,” said the Mirwaiz.

Irrespective of their organizational affiliations, all Kashmiris today are speaking in one voice for the resolution of the Kashmir conflict, said the Hurriyat (M) chairman.

“Everybody is asking for an end to this bloodshed. The Kashmir conflict has consumed generations of Kashmiri’s over the years,” Mirwaiz said.