- ‘Hartalsan option against oppression’
- Time to adopt martyrs’ kin, pellet victims
- Golden opportunity for separatists to forge unity
- Leadership wants to sit together to decide how to assist injured people
Senior resistance leader and the Chairman of Democratic Freedom Party (DFP) Shabir Ahmed Shah Wednesday said that scars inflicted on people during five month long agitation have put huge responsibilities on pro-freedom leaders and that it’s time to adopt the children of “martyrs and those blinded by pellets.”
Addressing media men at his residence here, Shah, who was recently released from jail and placed under house arrest, said: “We can’t forget the oppression unleashed by forces on the people. Everybody suffered. Our children were blinded by pellets while young boys were killed during peaceful protests across Kashmir. The uprising has left huge responsibilities on our shoulders. It’s high time we must play collective role by adopting children of those killed and those who were blinded by the pellets.”
To a query whether his appeal was for pro-freedom leadership for adopting pellet victims and children of martyrs, Shah said that there is a need for a collective approach where everybody must chip in. “My intention is that victims should feel that they have someone to look after. People with wealth can play an important role. I also appeal doctors to treat pellet victims in a friendly way,” he said.
Shah has adopted 14-year-old pellet victim Insha from Shopian district of South Kashmir. Insha lost vision after police fired dozens of pellets in her eyes while she was sitting at the window of her house in July last year.
He said Kashmiri children including the victims of oppression are intelligent as proved by the son of Muhammad Afzal Guru. Around 1100 youth were hit by pellets in their eyes while over 100 have lost their eyesight fully or partially.
Asked whether there is need for long term measures and to go beyond hartals as suggested by Hurriyat Conference (M) chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, the DFP chairman said that hartals were a means to resist oppression. “We have not been able to sit together. I continue to be under house arrest. We can sit together and find alternatives vis-à-vis long term modes of protests,” he said.
Shah said that he will launch Kashmir issue awareness campaign across India after addressing media men in New Delhi soon.
“Kashmir issue can only be resolved through implementation of UN resolutions or through tri-partite talks.”
Accusing the PDP-BJP government of “unleashing terror on the streets of Kashmir since July last year,” Shah said the year 2016 was horrible by all means.
“PDP at the behest of RSS and BJP killed young boys, maimed hundreds and damaged property worth crores through its forces,” he alleged.
Asked about the issue of West Pakistan Refugees (WPRs), he said that PDP is all set to go for sell-out of J&K. “If we go by partition, refugees can be settled in any part of India. They can’t be settled in J&K as this state is a disputed territory.”
On unity among the freedom leadership, Shah said it has been his dream to see the whole resistance leadership on a single platform under a single leader.
