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The Rediff Interview/ Mirwaiz Omar Farooq

'Whoever is responsible for the killings must be exposed'

The chairman of the All Hurriyat Conference, Mirwaiz Omar Farooq , is waiting to see how the nation reacts to the killing of seven Muslims in police firing in Anantnag. "When Sikhs were killed in Chatti Singhpora leaders cutting across religious and political lines condemned the incident. Let us see how many of them speak up now."

He, however, is happy that Chief Minister Farooq Abdulah has ordered a judicial probe into the incident. In an exclusive interview, he told Onkar Singh that talks were the only way the Kashmir problem could be solved.

What role will the Hurriyat play in the judicial probe ordered by the chief minister?

We are committed to cooperate in any probe that promises to bring out the truth. It would have been much better if the probe were conducted by an international organisation.

Why, a probe by a retired Supreme Court judge is not acceptable to you?

We are willing to give it a try. We will cooperate with the judge.

Do you want Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah to resign?

Farooq's resigning would not serve any purpose. We want action. Not against a handful of government officials, but against those who are responsible for killing innocent people.

We want some concrete action against those who killed five innocent Kashmiris in a fake encounter and those who opened fire on a peaceful demonstration.

What are you going to do to prevent Sikhs from migrating?

Whatever happened in Chatti Singhpora was very unfortunate. People of Kashmir and leaders of All Hurriyat Conference have condemned the incident. However, we feel that the massacre was a deliberate attempt to malign our movement. It was a deliberate attempt to create a wedge between the Kashmiris and the Sikhs. We have identified over 136 villages where there is considerable Sikh population. We will visit each and every village to ensure that they are safe and secure in Kashmir.

The government has identified some militant groups responsible for the Chatti Singhpora massacre?

Tell me why would the militants kill Sikhs. It goes against their interests. We want the truth. Whoever is responsible for the killings must be exposed. That is why we want a neutral agency likes the Amnesty International to investigate the matter.

Hurriyat Conference tried to stop Kashmiri Pandits from leaving the valley but did not succeed. Do you think you will succeed this time?

Unfortunately when Kashmiri Pandits migrated from the valley, Hurriyat Conference was not a major political force. Some other parties did their best, but the Pandits were adamant. Now it has been established that the Indian government was not interested in keeping the Kashmiri Pandits back in the valley. The government provided full assistance to those who wanted to migrate. We think it was a deliberate move by the government to malign the Kashmiri movement. They wanted to give our movement a communal colour.

In the last few months militants have stepped up their activities and have attacked military camps and BSF bunkers. Chatti Singhpora seems like another audacious attempt at attracting international attention.

I do not think so...such acts only brings bad name to us and we get dubbed as terrorists and fundamentalists. We are the sufferers. Over 50,000 people have lost their lives in the last ten years here. Thousands are in jail. People keep disappearing every now and then. If this is the handiwork of some militant outfit, what we have gained in the bargain is negative publicity. We want the issue of Kashmir to be settled for once and for all.

But we thought the issue of Kashmir had been settled by Maharaja Hari Singh when he signed the papers of annexation with India in 1947?

The Kashmir issue is yet to be settled. The people of Kashmir want plebiscite as promised by Pandit Nehru.

Why is it when the you talk of Kashmir you only talk of the Indian side. What about the Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir?

Let Pakistan be under no illusion that POK is going to remain with it. POK is part of Kashmir.

The Rediff Interviews

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