Today 26 Nov.in ksdhmir history 1999: Umar Farooq Criticised for - TopicsExpress

Today 26 Nov.in ksdhmir history 1999: Umar Farooq Criticised for Talks Amid confusion and dissent over reported secret talks between jailed Hurriyat Conference leaders and the centre, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, the acting chairman of the multi-party alliance, air-dashed to Delhi to ascertain the truth. The Mirwaiz had plans to first meet senior leader Abdul Ghani Lone and then together travel to Jodhpur, Rajasthan to meet other jailed leaders. On his return, the Mirwaiz had to brief the council members over the reality of the behind-the-bars talks. He assured that he would put facts before the council in black and white. The acting chairman came under fire in the general council meet over the reported secret talks and his willingness to talk to New Delhi without the involvement of Pakistan in the first phase. Several general council members sought an explanation from the Mirwaiz for not involving Pakistan in the first phase. He came under fire mostly from members who supported Kashmirs accession to Pakistan. The Jama’at-e-Islami, Anjuman-e-Islam, Jami’at-e- Hamadaniya, the Muslim Conference and even the Awami Action Committee of which he happened to be, favour merger of Kashmir with Pakistan. Some members accused him of sidelining Pakistan and sought an explanation on his statement. The Mirwaiz had told The Indian Express that the Hurriyat was ready to talk to the Centre without the involvement of Pakistan in the first phase if it was formally approached for talks. The meeting of the general council, which had 24 members, was held to deliberate over reports that the centre had opened an unofficial channel with the jailed Hurriyat leaders through intermediaries. The members also made a scathing attack on the Mirwaiz for not reacting to an interview by senior leader Abdul Ghani Lone in which he had said that “a solution could be found even without UN intervention. Lone was referring to the UN resolutions on Kashmir. The meeting generated so much heat that Hafizullah Makhdoomi of the Peoples Conference had to intervene to pacify the agitated members. The members drew the acting chairmans attention to the constitution of the Hurriyat which says: “the solution to the Kashmir problem lies in trilateral talks between India, Pakistan and genuine representatives of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. 1955: Pakistan Plans “Liberation March” On November 26, 1955, the then Prime Minister of Pakistan convened an all-party Kashmir Conference to devise a new strategy to secure plebiscite in the state. In his bid to internationalize the Kashmir dispute he pursued a new strategy i.e., the recruitment of a “peace army” to organize a “liberation march” into the Indian-administered part of Kashmir. This policy did revive public enthusiasm in Pakistan for the liberation of Kashmir but failed to achieve anything.