Tuesday, March 22 2005 16:06 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Srinagar: Lashing out at Islamabad, the pro-Pakistan Hurriyat faction led by Syed Ali Shah Geelani has said its approval to the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus service tantamounts to giving permanency to the status quo in Jammu and Kashmir and "rubbing salt into the wounds of the people".

"The Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus service is an Indian plan to give permanency to the status quo in Jammu and Kashmir. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's inauguration of the service is a step towards implementing this plan," the Hurriyat faction led by said after its Majlis-e-Shoora (advisory council) meeting in Srinagar yesterday (March 21, 2005).

It said the council felt that Pakistan's approval and support to the bus service amounted to "rubbing salt into the wounds of the people" of Jammu and Kashmir.

Noting that India and Pakistan have taken several Confidence-Building Measures over the past years, the amalgam however alleged that "Indian security forces are carrying on human rights violations like custodial killings, rape, molestation, arson and detention without trial in the State".

The council said the Mufti Mohammad Sayeed Government's claims that resolution of the Kashmir issue was on its agenda was "Nothing but a fraud. They are just playing to the tunes of their masters in New Delhi and are being used as sign boards in the games of deceit played with the people of the State".

It also criticised the State Government's decision to lease land to non-State subjects, saying it was part of the cultural invasion being planned at New Delhi.