Terming the upcoming visit of the ‘All Party Delegation’ to Jammu and Kashmir as “half-hearted” measure, the business fraternity in the Valley today said it would talk with the delegation if they talk to the Hurriyat.
“The Kashmir Inc unanimously resolved not to meet the Union Home Minister-led All Party Delegation scheduled to visit Valley on September 4. Such half-hearted measures won’t solve any purpose as this dialogue seems to be conducted without seizing the hostilities and pressure tactics,” several trade bodies of Kashmir said in a joint statement issued here.
“Kashmir Inc being apolitical would talk to the All Party Delegation if they talk to the Hurriyat,” it said.
The statement was issued after a joint meeting of over a dozen heads of various trade, transport and tourism bodies, including Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Kashmir Economic Alliance, Kashmir Traders and Manufacturers Federation, Federation Chamber of Industries Kashmir, All Kashmir Fruit growers association, Tourism Alliance, Houseboat Association and All Kashmir Transport Welfare Association.
“The meeting unanimously resolved that meeting the visiting delegations will be nothing beyond a foolish exercise aimed at a photo session, which will only end up adding salts to the wounds’ of Kashmir’s worst-ever humanitarian crises,” the statement said.
The business community said it has become a “ritual” for the Centre to send a team to Kashmir whereas every such time “human rights abuse scaled new heights”.
“Let the mockery of symbolic Kashmir visits over our tragedy end, and seriousness begin for an effort for sustainable solution to Kashmir dispute. Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Opposition leader in Rajya Sabha recently sought a permanent solution, which can’t come through cosmetic patchwork where all party comes in with rigidity. Tangible measures need to be taken…As per the agenda-of-alliance (reached between PDP-BJP coalition partners ahead of forming the government in the state),” it said.
The business community said they were not drawing any
“pleasure” out of the uprising or seeing the business having come to a grinding halt since July 8.
“We are the worst suffers, losing everything from lives to livelihood but the problem is that the New Delhi viz-a-viz its remote controlled Jammu and Kashmir government is unwilling to feel the pain of Kashmir,” the statement said.
It said the the all party delegations visited Kashmir at least thrice in the past but nothing transpired on the ground.
“Apart from 1990s, the delegations also visited Kashmir in 2008 and 2010 uprising. But what transpired was nothing beyond sight-seeing of bloodshed,” it said.
The statement said the visit of the present delegation in the absence of “proper groundwork” and New Delhi’s “unwillingness to talk to Hurriyat which happens to be bonafide representatives of the people of Kashmir”, has festered the crisis.
“The government is preparing a log-book which is as if to be shown to the world community on steps taken on Kashmir issue whereas in reality nothing beyond symbolic efforts has been done. It is supposed to be third visit of the Union Home Minister, but again with half-hearted attitude and unwillingness to realise the complexity of the issue,” the statement said.
Meanwhile, Separatist leader Syed Ali Geelani on Friday called for boycott of an all-party parliamentary delegation which is arriving in the state on a two-day visit on Sunday this week.
Geelani, who heads a faction of separatist amalgam Hurriyat Conference, said the parliamentary delegation “neither has the mandate nor the intention to resolve the dispute of Jammu and Kashmir”.
“The Indian parliamentary delegation is coming to Kashmir after passing a resolution that Kashmir is an integral part of India, therefore this delegation neither has the mandate nor the intention to resolve the dispute of Jammu and Kashmir,” Geelani said.
The all-party delegation is scheduled to visit the state on Sunday as part of an effort to find a solution to the ongoing unrest in the region. The opposition parties in Jammu and Kashmir from the mainstream bloc, which include the National Conference and the Congress, have planned to draft a joint list of demands and talk in one voice before the delegation.
Geelani, however, called for boycott of the delegation and termed a meeting with them as “meaningless exercise”. “We suggest to all stakeholders to refrain from engaging in this meaningless exercise of meeting this delegation,” he said in a statement.
