Separatist leaders write to UN chief Antonio Guterres over Kashmir dispute ahead of his India visit

Srinagar: Kashmiri separatist leaders said on Monday that they have written a letter to United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres ahead of his India visit, drawing his attention to the urgency of the need to resolve the Kashmir issue. The Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL), a separatist amalgam, said in the letter, “As you embark on your trip to India, we in the state of Jammu and Kashmir take this opportunity to draw your attention towards the urgency of the need to resolve the dispute over it.” The JRL, comprising Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Mohammad Yasin Malik, said they felt that India’s refusal to hold dialogue was doing “unimaginable harm not only to Kashmir, but to the entire South Asian region” at a time during which interconnectedness culturally, economically and politically is the driving force in international relations. “We would like to urge you to advocate that New Delhi engage with us in Kashmir and with Pakistan, with whom India’s relations are also deteriorating by the day,” they said. The separatists also raised the alleged human rights violations by the security forces. The UN secretary-general will be on a three-day visit to India from Monday.