Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, Mar 13: Hurr-iyat Conference (M) today said that the organisation doesn’t believe in any form of violence and has no manifestation with regard to any terror funding and that chairman of Hurriyat Mirwaiz Umar Farooq was himself a “victim of violence.”
Addressing a press conference here, senior leader of the amalgam, Professor Abdul Gani Bhat said that Hurriyat was launched as far back as June 1993 as the symbol of political unity in Kashmir with a view to preserving the idea through thick and thin.
Mirwaiz Mohammad Umar Farooq a young boy had the honor to be its first Chairman in recognition of his politico-religious background.
“He represents an office which is so sacred that interference in any form or at any level with his position is extremely likely to inflict a wound deep into the collective political consciousness of Kashmir. There is no gainsaying the fact that the conglomerate has passed through thick as well as thin,” Prof Bhat said.
“However what is striking about is, it preserves the beauty of unity of purpose at all costs. We are determined to preserve it in future as well. Let there be no mistake about it that APHC as a forum is democratic in essence and does not, therefore, believe in violence in any form or manifestation let alone so called “terror-funding”, he said
Prof Bhat said that it may not be out of place to mention here that the Chairman (Mirwaiz) himself is the victim of violence. As a matter of fact, the forum has all along been actively supporting efforts aimed at building abiding relations between India and Pakistan which is where our position to resolve the dispute through talks needs to be appreciated.
“We did actually do the talking with the leadership in Governments across the sub-continent with a view to working out an acceptable and just solution of dispute on Kashmir. In-fact we were the ones who led the dialogue in 2004 and 2005 despite tremendous backlash and sacrifice”, he added.
“APHC considers in the interests of all that now is the time that we consider bigger issues rather than involve in nerve breaking tactics. We will have to rise above and take the lead ourselves”, he said, adding “India and Pakistan as nuclear powers can hardly exhibit laxity towards tomorrow. We have to live together and live peacefully to ensure prosperity and development.
“Mirwaiz Mohammad Umar Farooq the Chairman of APHC who also heads social and educational Institutions Auqaf Jamia Masjid, Anjuman Nusratul Islam, Darul Khair all completely accounted for institutions, audited each year. People give donation to these organisations. During floods of 2014 in just 15 days through Mirwaiz mobilisation, more than Rs 1 crore was raised through Darul Khair.”