Tuesday, April 19 2005 09:08 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Srinagar: Flaying the Indo-Pak joint statement, Hurriyat hawk Syed Ali Shah Geelani yesterday (Apr 18, 2005) said it did not contain any concrete proposal to resolve Kashmir issue nor provided any relief to suffering Kashmiris.

"The joint declaration has failed to provide any sort of relief to suffering Kashmiris, facing the worst kind of State terrorism," Geelani, chairman of the hard-line faction of the Hurriyat Conference, said in a statement in Srinagar.

"Kashmiris should have been given some relief at this juncture when claims of headway to resolve the 57-year-old issue are being made by India and Pakistan," he said reacting to the joint statement issued at the end of President Pervez Musharraf's visit to India.

"At least, announcements should have been made about release of political prisoners and revoking of Disturbed Areas Act, Public Safety Act and other laws," the statement said.

"How can common Kashmiris treat the ongoing dialogue between India and Pakistan as peace process in the absence of any such step," Geelani said.

Saying the joint declaration made no mention of any concrete proposal to solve the Kashmir problem, he asked how many decades were required to arrive at the final settlement of the issue.

"Though our on-going struggle has nothing to do with terrorism, our youth took to arms after all democratic ways failed to achieve their right (right to self-determination)," Geelani said.

However, Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Liberation Party chairman Hashim Qureshi welcomed the joint statement saying the resolution of Kashmir issue was possible only when walls of hatred between India and Pakistan disappear.

He demanded inclusion of Kashmiris in talks to resolve the issue permanently.