SRINAGAR : After presenting a memorandum to President Parnab Mukherjee in New Delhi, seeking his intervention to defuse tension in violence hit Kashmir, a delegation of opposition parties in the state will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi tomorrow.
Meanwhile, life remained crippled in the valley for the 44th day today due to curfew restrictions and strike called by separatists against civilian killings.
Sources here today said the Opposition parties will tomorrow meet Mr Modi in Delhi and urge him to initiate meaningful process of political dialogue without any further delay involving all stakeholders to address the political issue in the State.
Lone CPI (M) MLA Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami confirmed that the delegation will meet the Prime Minister tomorrow in New Delhi.
“All the opposition leaders will meet at 0800 hrs tomorrow to workout the details. We will then meet Mr Modi at 0930 hrs at his office in South Block in New Delhi,” he said over the phone.
A group of mainstream political parties from the state, led by main opposition National Conference working president Omar Abdullah, yesterday met the President and sought immediate intervention to stop use of lethal force in the Valley, where the unrest has left 66 civilians dead and over 5,000 injured. Two policemen have lost their lives while over 4,000 security force personnel have also been injured in the unrest since July 9, a day after Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani and two other militants were killed in an encounter in Anantnag.
The delegation also urged the President to impress upon the Centre to initiate a credible and meaningful process of political dialogue without any further delay involving all stakeholders to address the political issue in the state.
The other members of the delegation were Pradesh Congress Committee president G A Mir, CPI(M) leader Mohammad Yousuf Targami, Ghulam Hassan Mir, president of Democratic Party Nationalist and Hakeem Mohammad Yaseen, president Peoples Democratic Front.
“The leaders conveyed grief and concern over the current unrest in Kashmir which has claimed more than 60 young lives till now and resulted in injuries to thousands with many of them being maimed and blinded for life. This is a grave, heart-rending tragedy,” a memorandum presented to Mr Mukherjee said.
“We express our deep disappointment and displeasure at the response of both the Centre and the state government to the current unrest in Kashmir, which stems from their insensitivity towards the sufferings and sentiments of the people of the state,” it said.
It had said “The failure of the Central Government to acknowledge that the issue in Kashmir is largely of political nature, has worsened the already volatile situation. The Central Government’s refusal to deal with the situation through a political approach is disappointing and can have serious long term implications on peace and stability in the State.
“We request your Excellency to impress upon the Central Government to initiate a credible and meaningful process of political dialogue without any further delay involving all stakeholders to address the political issue in the State.
We also request you to influence the Central and the State Government to stop the use of lethal force against civilians in the Valley”.
The memorandum stated “A continued delay to engage with the people of the State through a comprehensive and sustained political initiative will further deepen the sense of alienation in the Valley and cast a shadow of uncertainty on its future generation.
Meanwhile, not being invited to ‘All party Meet’ with the President, AIP chief Er Abdul Rashid yesterday accused the opposition parties of disrespecting the sentiments of Kashmiri people.
Er Rashid, who is MLA from Langate in north Kashmir, alleged that he was left out from the delegation to New-Delhi because Mr Abdullah and others wanted him to give up his hard stand on all issues, especially seeking right to self-determination. (AGENCIES)
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