Involve militant groups in Indo-Pak talks: Yasin Malik

Rawalpindi, Aug 11: Kashmiri separatist leader Yasin Malik has called on India and Pakistan to focus on resolving their dispute over Kashmir. He warned that unless the two countries capitalise on the newly built trust, they risk the rise of a new wave of militancy.

Malik, the head of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), also said that the people of Kashmir have welcomed the resumption of the peace process between the two nations and asked that the dialogue should end on a settlement.

He was quoted by Reuters as saying, "Now is the right time to focus on the solution. There should a time-frame for the process and it should not be a waste of time, as happened in the past."

Warning that peaceful protests could turn violent if Pakistan and India failed to resolved the Kashmir dispute, he said, "There is a big risk factor (if the talks fail). You may be pushing these boys again to the violent path."

Malik himself was a militant trained in Pakistan to fight the Indian army but gave up violence in 1994 to agitate peacefully for self-rule. Stating that many of his friends had resented his decision to renounce violence, he said that the revolts in Egypt and Tunisia have proved that freedom could be won through peaceful means.

He said, "There is no support for militant movements in the world right now. You have to keep your (political) movement alive, and this is what we are trying to do."

Calling the governments of India and Pakistan to involve militant groups as well as the Kashmiri leadership in the peace process, he said, "This is not a border dispute that the two countries decide. It is the question of the future of a civilised and educated nation. They (Kashmiris) are not animals who listen to decisions about their fate on television and radio."

OneIndia News