WASHINGTON - A US-based Kashmiri organisation Thursday rejected a report submitted by India-appointed interlocutors suggesting the contours of a political settlement of the Kashmir problem, saying it ignores the UN-recognised disputed state’s people demand for freedom.
In a statement, the Kashmiri American Council (KAC), which is dedicated to highlighting the unresolved Kashmir dispute between India and Pakistan, called the report ‘Old wine in a new bottle’. The report, authored by three Indian government-appointed interlocutors - Dileep Padgaonkar, Radha Kumar and MM Ansari - was released in New Delhi last week.
KAC was headed by Ghulam Nabi Fai, a Kashmiri activist, until his arrest last year on tax evasion charges. He was subsequently sentenced to two years in prison. He will begin his term next month.
“Apparently, months of study have brought the committee to the same conclusion that their masters have sought,” the statement said after a meeting of KAC’s Board of Directors. “Adding salt to the wounds of Kashmiris, the report focused on cultural, business and other non-political avenues aimed solely at concentrating Indian occupation of Kashmir. It constructively ignored the history of Kashmir, the multiple United Nations resolutions on Kashmir, the numerous human rights violations occurring on a daily basis in Kashmir, and the lack of any accountability on the parts of the federal or puppet state governments to respond to on the ground issues being faced by Kashmiris seeking redress of their political grievances.
Formed in response to Kashmiris’ unified, peaceful, daily protests over the continued murders and rapes in Kashmir, the committee’s conclusion has left Kashmiris wondering what exactly it was that convinced the esteemed members of the group that their destiny resided within the Indian Constitution,” the statement added.