Kupwara: Expressing disappointment over the deferment of hearing on Article 35-A, in the Supreme Court, AIP President Er. Rasheed today asked the leadership in Kashmir to ‘introspect and read writing on the wall’ stating that New Delhi was successfully trying to change the ‘narrative’. He was addressing a rally at Gazriyal Kupwara, a press release issued here said .
“Supreme Court should have rejected the plea and closed the chapter once for all but Article 35-A is being used as a tool to politically blackmail people of Kashmir. Every Kashmiri wants to defend Article 35-A till J&K dispute is permanently resolved but New Delhi has dragged every Kashmiri from Lakhanpor to Karnah in a debate which never should have been there,” Rasheed was quoted as saying.
Stating that when the debate should have been ‘UN resolutions’ separatist leaders including the likes of Geelani and Mirwaiz had been compelled to take pledge for protecting certain clauses of Indian constitution. This, Rasheed said, was a result of the circumstances created by the ‘mainstream’ political dispensations here.
Counseling the separatist leaders to ‘introspect their achievements and failures’, Rasheed said that Hurriyat should have incorporated safeguarding Article 35-A and other relevant provisions in its constitution despite its not accepting the Indian constitution. “Seeking answers from anyone is not a crime and every Kashmiri has a right to ask questions to the mainstream and pro-resistance leaders about their achievements,” Er. Rasheed said accusing New Delhi of ‘demoralizing and disgracing people of Kashmir’.
Rasheed also asked NC, PDP and other main stream parties to ‘confess their failure’ in protecting or restoring the ‘autonomy’ and added that from “late Sheikh Sahab to Mufti Sahab every main stream Kashmiri leader is responsible for the erosion of the autonomy and whatsoever they may say today on Article 35-A has very few takers and it cannot wash their sins”.
