Ashiq Hussain
SRINAGAR, July 16: The stand of US President Barack Obama, to excuse United States from intervening in resolving Kashmir dispute, has emboldened the mainstream politicians of the Himalayan state while annoying its separatist leadership.
Union minister for renewable energy and National Conference President, Farooq Abdullah (75) was quick to hop over the statement of Obama.
“What Obama has said, we know it from the very beginning. If the issue will be resolved, it will be only by India and Pakistan. India has repeatedly said that it is a bilateral issue and it should be solved bilaterally,” Abdullah said in Srinagar.
Separatists, on the other hand, seemed ‘shocked’ over the ‘changing stand’ of America.
Veteran separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani (83) accused Obama of ‘prejudice’ against Kashmir. “World community is expressing double standards while dealing with the Kashmir issue. This is not only a murder of justice but also against the principles of equality,” said Geelani.
“If America can intervene in East Timor and South Sudan for ensuring the right to self determination of the people and help them in their goal of freedom, then what is holding them back when it comes to Kashmir,” said the separatist hawk whose stand to challenge accession of the state with Indian Union is well known.
“Is it because Kashmiris are Muslims that the world community is deliberately sidelining the written resolutions passed by the United Nations that grant the right to self determination to us,” Geelani questioned.
On Sunday Obama, while welcoming the start of dialogue process between India and Pakistan, had ruled out intervention of any third nation to intervene in solving Kashmir dispute.
“It is not the place of any nation, including the United States, to try to impose solutions from the outside,” Obama had said.
Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front chairman Yasin Malik said that the statement of US president was like ‘rubbing salt into the wounds of Kashmir’s subjugated people’.
“The statement is actually against the stated policy of US on Kashmir which has always endorsed the wishes and aspirations of Kashmiri people. In-fact it was US which persuaded people here to change their struggle from violence to non violence,” Malik said.
“It is about the future of millions of Kashmiris and has direct bearing on the peace, prosperity and stability of the world and sub-continent. It is not possible to be resolved bilaterally without taking into account the wishes of people in the state,” Malik added.
(The author is correspondent, The Hindustan Times)
