Ramazan ceasefire a ‘cruel joke’: JRL

‘People want a permanent halt on war thrust by India’

SRINAGAR: The joint resistance leadership (JRL) comprising Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Muhammad Yasin Malik on Thursday held a “brief” meeting held at Hyderpora here and deliberated on various dimensions of the Ramazan ceasefire announced by the Government of India.

JRL in a statement issued to GNS termed the ceasefire as “a cruel joke with the freedom loving people of Kashmir, who are engaged in a legitimate movement for right to self-determination”.

“The people of Kashmir, as a peace loving nation, believe in permanent peace rather than a relaxation in killing for one month. People want a permanent halt on war thrust by India,” the leadership said while regretting that “India instead of hearing the clear message of the people of Kashmir is hell bent to trample the genuine voice of the people by its military might”.

JRL said India is suffering with “arrogance of power” and is “out-rightly” rejecting the UN resolutions – the legitimate and peaceful formula of right to self-determination – or even the science of dialogue as a means of conflict resolution.

Terming the ceasefire as a ploy to hoodwink the public opinion on both national and international level, the JRL advised Indian authorities to “shun arrogance” and accept Kashmir as a dispute.

“Declaration of one month’s truce and sticking to a loud denial to solve the Kashmir dispute is a mere hypocrisy. It is highly illogical and unfortunate to offer relaxations in killings for one month and then restart it with impunity,” the leadership said.

Geelani, Mirwaiz and Malik reiterated their appeal to people to make the Lal Chowk Chalo a grand success in order to send a clear message to Indian authorities that the people of Kashmir shall never compromise on less than the right to self-determination.

The leadership also appealed to shut all the business establishments and offices on May 19 – the day of Indian prime minister’s visit to the State. (GNS)