Mirwaiz for including China in Indo-Pak Kashmir dialogue

Karachi, Mar 29 (UNI) Chairman of the moderate Hurriyat Conference Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has called for including China in the ongoing composite dialogue between India and Pakistan on Kashmir.

''The APHC is preparing a roadmap of 2020 for the resolution of (Kashmir issue) in which we will also recommend the inclusion of China as a party,'' the Mirwaiz said at the final round of the series of discussions on Kashmir at the World Social Forum (WSF) being held at the KMC Sports Complex, here yesterday.

At the workshop on Kashmir the moderate Hurriyat. chief told WSF that besides India, Pakistan and Kashmiri leadership, China should also be considered as a party in resolving the Kashmir issue.

Inclusion of China, he said, is necessary because ''it occupies a large part of the Jammu and Kashmir.'' ''Forces of globalisation could not be ignored in this issue,'' he added.

The mairwaiz said without political stability in the South Asian region ''we can not advance to resolve (the issue).'' He said the Kashmiri leadership was not satisfied with the dialogue process between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.

Stating that the Hurriyat Conference was preparing a roadmap according to which recommendations would be made in light of the ground realities to resolve the Kashmir issue, the Mirwaiz said, ''If our roadmap is implemented it would resolve all the disputes by 2020.'' Mr Tariq Hameed Qarra of Peoples Democratic Party Jammu and Kashmir said his party was a part of the Congress-led coalition in India and both the people in uniform and without uniform were equally responsible upholding human rights in Kashmir.

''We are often branded as the agents of Pakistan and ISI but we think ourselves the agents of Kashmiri people and highlight the ground realities,'' he said.

He said his party had helped arranging talks between the separatists and the Indian government but ''(we) will not tolerate any voice for separatism.'' Meanwhile, delegates at a seminar on Palestine called for a collective stand by the Islamic world to counter ''imperialist and hegemonic'' US policies against Muslims.

Mr Jumma Jamal, head of the Palestinian delegation and Ms Sara, an Iranian delegate, underscored the need of increasing pressure on the US and European countries, which acording to them, are not interested in resolving the West Asia crisis.

The delegates discussed in detail the lingering issues of Kashmir and Palestine and described the US as the main source of international upheavel and instability.

UNI XC VJ SND1211