Separatist groups condemn Obama's statement on Kashmir

Srinagar: Expressing surprise over the statement of US President Barack Obama on Kashmir, the separatist outfits today alleged that it smacks of double standards and is akin to murder of justice. “The international community is adopting double standards with regard to the Kashmir issue. If it can support the right to self determination for south Sudan and East Timor, why can it not do the same for Kashmir,” hard line Hurriyat Conference chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani said in a statement. The Hurriyat hawk was reacting to Obama’s statement that India and Pakistan will have to bilaterally resolve the Kashmir issue and that the US will not impose a solution on the two countries. Geelani said it was surprising that the international community was brushing aside its own commitments made on the Kashmir issue through the UN Security Council resolutions. [caption id=“attachment_379317” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Obama with Manmohan Singh in this file photo. PTI[/caption] Geelani said people of Kashmir will not accept any solution that is not in accordance with their wishes and aspirations. JKLF chairman Mohammad Yasin Malik expressing surprise over Obama’s statements asserted, “the statements are like rubbing salt on the wounds of Kashmiris.” “Obama’s latest statement on Kashmir is in fact a contradiction of his country’s stand on Kashmir. The statement is like rubbing salt on the wounds of oppressed people,” Malik said in a statement. The JKLF leader said contradictory statements on issues like Kashmir have made the whole world unsafe. He said Kashmiris responded to the call of the US and other world powers to shun the path of violence and started an exemplary peaceful struggle in 2008 in the hope that the global community will honour the positive change. “Unfortunately, the Kashmiris are today finding themselves sidelined,” he said. Malik said the latest statement of US negatives its own stand which was resolution of Kashmir issue in accordance with the wishes and aspirations of the people of Kashmir. “We want to clarify to Obama that Kashmir is not a boundary dispute between India and Pakistan…It is an issue linked to everlasting peace, prosperity and development of the world especially the sub-continent,” the JKLF leader said. Claiming that India and Pakistan cannot resolve the issue bilaterally, Malik said, it is essential that the world, including New Delhi and Islamabad, accept Kashmiris as the basic party to the issue and involve them in finding an everlasting solution to the issue. “In this connection, America being the super power has an important role to play,” Malik said. He said the world, especially America, should encourage India and Pakistan to address this “dangerous” issue on priority by demonstrating far sightedness and magnanimity. PTI