Joint Civil Society (JCS) today said the engagement of the nominated representative of Government of India can only be meaningful if and when unconditional talks are held with Joint Separatist Leadership.
“We the members of Kashmir civil society have witnessed with distress hindrances to the process of resolution of Kashmir dispute sought to be facilitated by nominating Dineshwar Sharma as a representative of Government of India. Unfortunately the terms of reference for the proposed dialogue have not been specified,” the Joint Civil Society said in a statement.
“Needless to state that it is of paramount importance to address the issue seriously without using subterfuges of ‘restoration of peace’ and ‘de-radicalization of youth’, which are in fact, concomitant to the resolution of the dispute. The issue needs to be dealt with frontally in its historical perspective. The dialogue must take place among the three principal parties viz India, Pakistan and the Joint Resistance Leadership of Kashmir. That alone can yield desired results,” it said.
“The Kashmir civil society is relieved to know that all the three parties have publicly stated that the final settlement of the dispute could be arrived at through meaningful, resulted-oriented and time-bound negotiations. In this backdrop, the concerns expressed by Joint Separatist Leadership must be addressed immediately by the Indian government to set in motion the process of resolution,” it said.
“The engagement of the nominated representative of Government of India can only be meaningful if and when unconditional talks are held with Joint Resistance Leadership,” it added.
The statement has 25 signatories from different fields: Dr. Altaf Hussain, author and civil society activist, Dr. Hameedah Nayeem, chairperson – Kashmir Centre for Social and Development Studies, Zahiruddin, author and journalist, Dr. Mubeen Ahmed Shah, business leader and civil society activist, Syed Shakeel Qalander, Zareef Ahmad Zareef, Anwar Ashai, Dr. Javed Iqbal, Abdul Majid Zargar, Khurram Parvez, civil society activists. Besides Dr. Ather Zia, assistant professor, University of Colorado, Dr. Mirza Ashraf Beg, author, Anuradha Bhasin Jamwal, executive editor The Kashmir Times, Prof. Siddiq Wahid, Ex-Vice Chancellor, Islamic University of Science and Technology, Kashmir, Muhammad Shafi Pandit, former chairman, Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission, Justice (Retd.) Hasnain Masoodi, retired High Court Judge, Sampat Prakash, veteran Trade Union Leader, Krishen Lal Koul, businessman, Gowhar Geelani, journalist, Mirza Waheed, author, Monisa Qadri, academician, Dr. Shaikh Ghulam Rasool, president Jammu and Kashmir Right to Information Movement, Mehmood ur Rashid and Hassan Zainagiree columnists and Arjimand Hussain Talib, Editor-in-Chief, Ziraat Times.
Talks only meaningful when held with resistance leadership: Joint Civil Society
