Accept Kashmir as dispute, unless no negotiations: Geelani to New Delhi

SRINAGAR: As an all party delegation is planning to meet Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on Tuesday, Kashmir hawkish separatist Syed Ali Shah Geelani said he will not get involved in any negotiations with New Delhi unless they accept Kashmir as a dispute.

He said they will protect the territorial integrity of J&K as over 40% Muslims can not be left to the mercy of communal forces.

The delegation will comprise all the unionist parties in J&K barring the PDP. The opposition had boycotted the all party meeting that decided sending a delegation to Prime Minister. Geelani rejected the idea of autonomy, self rule and (Parvez) Musharaf’s four point formula as possible options for settling Kashmir.

“There should be a tripartite way out to discuss how the UN resolutions could be implemented,” Geelani said, adding the withdrawal of black laws and the armed forces should precede any kind of negotiation process.

Addressing home minister P Chidambaram as “a Brahmin” Geelani said he is now talking about Kashmir’s “unique accession” that requires “unique solution”. “We have not been demanding Punjab but we have been seeking honouring the commitment that Pandit Nehru made in Srinagar,” he said. However, he was quick to add that New Delhi has been playing “Machiavellian politics” and “Nehruvian doctrine has been showing skies and snatching ground from the feet.”

Geelani thanked God for the peaceful Amarnath yatra. He was very harsh about the conduct of state police saying they are “worse than CRPF” and are randomly detaining people and seeking ransom.

“They (cops) have their families living in this society so they should be cautious of their conduct,” he said. He asserted that while the stone-pelting has gone down the police is still using force to attack unarmed civilians.

“A mother whose minor child is trampled to death can pelt a stone because it is natural,” Geelani said, “But I stood against the tide taking a huge risk because I did not want our movement getting dubbed as violent.” He referred to a number of cases in which unarmed civilians were fired upon.

“The state is suffering from arrogance of power,” he said, adding the “Kashmiri youth can not be vanquished because he is on the right track”. Geelani read out a new protest programme that leaves barely two days for routine life. However, what is significant is that August 15 will be observed as a black day and August 14 will be open for the routine.

He said the strikes are taking a huge toll, especially on economy and education but “for Azaadi this nation will go to any extent.”