Srinagar: The Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL) has said that choking of political space is the main reason behind Kashmiri youth opting for the armed path.
“Aggressive policies of India and ban on political dissent are pushing Kashmiris to the wall and hence promoting worst kind of violence,” JRL comprising of Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Muhammad Umar Farooq and Muhammad Yasin Malik said in a statement.
JRL held a meeting of the leadership to discuss the present political situation and all its aspects, especially the emerging scenario after the recent Pulwama attack and subsequent hostile statements from Indian prime minister, Indian home minister and by military commander along with police officers, the statement said.
“JRL leaders said that if it was possible to defeat a people’s movement by military oppression, police highhandedness, killings, massacres, and other tyrant means then no country including India would have tasted freedom and sovereignty,” it stated.
Referring to a press conference by Indian army core-commander along with senior police officers in which he has asked mothers “to stop their children or otherwise be ready to shoulder their dead bodies”, JRL said, adding,” persuading young boys to refrain from treading a path is not in the hands of fathers, mothers or even political leaders”.
“However this ball also lies in the court of Indian political and military leadership who have chosen to choke every little space on political dissent in Kashmir,” JRL stated.
JRL said that it is in fact the aggressive policies of Indian political leadership, its police, and other agencies and forces, are choking of the peaceful political space in Kashmir and hence pushing Kashmiri youth to the wall which is responsible for pushing our younger generation to the armed path.
“In 2008, when Kashmiris at the behest of international community, big countries, diplomatic circles and even Indian civil society changed the outlook of their freedom struggle and started an exemplary peaceful resistance, Kashmiris were of the view that international community and Indian rulers will support this positive change but Indian rulers chose to suppress that peaceful peoples agitation by military and police might,” the JRL stated.
“Same oppression was repeated in 2010 and again a peaceful political dissent was crushed by military and police boots”.
JRL said that during these peaceful political movements, thousands of young boys also faced the wrath of Indians and were jailed, tortured, booked under PSA and in many cases their mothers, sisters, brothers and fathers abused and humiliated in front of them .
“This callous approach of Indian rulers and choking of every little space on peaceful political dissent actually pushed a whole generation to the wall and left no space for young ones but to join armed resistance”, added JRL.
Leaders said that from 2014, when right wing Hindu party Bhartiya Janta party (BJP) took over the reins of government at Delhi, they announced a hardcore policy against Kashmiris and immediately started their anti-Kashmir actions under operation all out.
“This operation was not only launched against armed youth but even peaceful political movement also became a target of this as besides killings hundreds, maiming and blinding thousands by pellets and bullets, blasting and burning down of residential houses and properties, thousands got arrested under PSA and even many agencies and institutions were used to cage more political leaders and cage them at jails outside Jammu Kashmir,” it stated.
On the issue of removing security of some resistance leaders, JRL said that it was a no issue as it was “India and its abettors in Jammu Kashmir who deployed security to these leaders without any request and today have removed it also on their own”.