Srinagar: Kashmir Committee chairman Ram Jethmalani on November 23 launched a
frontal attack on Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chairman Mohammad Yaseen
Malik, saying it was for the people of Jammu and Kashmir to decide whether he was
their friend or he was destroying them.
"It is for the people of the state to decide whether he (Malik) is their real friend
or he is out to destroy them," Jethmalani said when asked about Malik's recent
outburst in which the JKLF chairman had accused him of adopting double
standards.
"Everybody has the right to say anything. The freedom of expression, of which I am a
votary, is not only for thoughts which you like but also for thoughts which you do
not like," Jethmalani said after issuing a joint statement following a brief round
of talks with separatist leader Shabir Ahmad Shah.
When asked about his reported statement that his mission in Kashmir was to bring the
emotional loyalties towards India, Jethmalani said, "It is not a war over the
territory but over hearts, which India has to win."
Asked if Hurriyat had authorised KC to go to Pakistan for talks with the Pakistan
Kashmir Committee, Jethmalani asserted, "I do not need anyone's ikhtiyar
(authorisation)."
Reading out the joint statement at Shah's Rawalpore residence, Democratic Freedom
Party (DFP) leader Abdullah Tari said, "To reach a lasting solution to the Kashmir
issue, it was imperative that all concerned parties rise above traditional positions
and abandon the extremist stands."
After the third round of structured dialogue on November 22, the DFP and Kashmir
Committee had reiterated their commitment to find a lasting solution to the Kashmir
issue through peaceful means.
Tari said the two sides have agreed to work together in the direction of creating a
conducive atmosphere for negotiated solution to Kashmir issue including the release
of political prisoners.
PTI
