SRINAGAR: The All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) fired back at the Indian army officer who had claimed that Kashmir’s freedom struggles seemed more akin to radicalism.
A spokesman for the APHC ridiculed the statement by Lt General Subrata Saha, saying that the Indian establishment was trying to malign the Kashmir’s efforts towards autonomy and independence by connecting it to religious extremism and radicalisation. Noting the hypocrisy of the Indian state machinery he said that they had turned to this strategy after decades of oppression and violence against Kashmiris had not been able to silence them.
In a press release, he stated, “We are not extremists or war-mongers and we have been living in religious harmony for decades. We are not like the fanatic people who proudly say that if law didn’t restrict, we could have slaughtered thousands of Muslims. We are not the people who in the name of religion brazenly ask Muslims to slaughter their own kids on the Eid Festival.”
He pointed out that ““Like the politicians of Hindutva Parcharacks (preachers), other Indian institutions are voicing in the same tune and when its seven lakh army failed to contain the echo of freedom, they maliciously started this propaganda through their hired mouth pieces.”
The spokesman further added that the issue they were fighting for was an internationally recognised dispute, ongoing for the last seven decades. He highlighted the fact that during this period the communal harmony of the area had never been had affected, with all religions, sects and tribes enjoying equality.
He emphasised this further, saying “We are demanding right to self-determination, which is for everybody, from every religion and for every region.”
