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| Joining Hurriyat is an option, says Faesal | | | Early Times Report
JAMMU, Jan 30: Civil servant Shah Faesal, who only recently resigned from service citing the alleged unabated killings in Kashmir, is unlikely to join any "mainstream" political party, including the National Conference of Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah. Instead, he has thought of meeting the people of Kashmir in general and Kashmiri youth in particular to understand the ground situation. In addition, he has thought of collecting funds to launch a movement calculated to serving the people of Kashmir. Earlier, there were reports that he was all set to join the NC and contest the Lok Sabha election from the Baramulla Parliamentary constituency. In fact, he himself had acknowledged that there were persons who were in touch with him so that he could join their political party.
Faesal has said that he wanted to go to Delhi so that he could create conditions conducive for the resolution of the Kashmir issue. At the same time, he has not ruled out the possibility of joining the Pakistan-founded Hurriyat Conference
"I haven't ruled out the Hurriyat option. I have said that I am into electoral politics. Hurriyat requires mental perseverance and motivation. Hurriyat's struggle is of a different sort. More so, you don't get a space to do your politics being in their camp. You have to go to the jail. There will be curbs on the freedom of expression. So it isn't an easy path to choose. I admit, I am choosing an easy path," he has said, and added that New Delhi has to talk to the people of Kashmir and negotiate the problem.
"We have to keep trying. We have to motivate New Delhi to give us… concessions. Wars cannot be fought forever. New Delhi has to engage people of Kashmir and talk to them, negotiate the problem, and finally reach to a solution. This cannot go on forever," he has said.
At the same time, he has said that he wanted a party at the Centre that understands the Kashmir situation and that protects Article 35A and Article 370, which have separate status to J&K State and also empowers the state government to grant or to not grant citizenship to a person or a group of persons not resident/residents of the state prior to May 14, 1944.
"I want to have a party at the Centre that understands Kashmir situation. The party at the Centre that tries to abrogate Article 35-A or Article 370 is doing a disservice to the nation. The Centre should not provoke or insult Kashmiris further by tinkering with the constitutional arrangements. I wish any party that comes to power should have a better understanding of Kashmir," he has said.
One thing is absolutely clear about Shah Faesal. He is no different from others in Kashmir as far as his attitude towards New Delhi and the political status of J&K are concerned. He, like all others in Kashmir, wants to keep the Hurriyat on his right side and he, like all others in Kashmir, is highly Kashmir-centric. And, it should not surprise anybody in Jammu or Ladakh. After all, he is what he is and he has indicated what he was even while in service. He had defied the official gag on social media for government employees. But more than that, in 2016, he had urged the TV news channels in Delhi and Mumbai to not use his pictures in order to draw a comparison between him and Hizb commander Burhan Wani.
In the meantime, reports from Kashmir suggested that Faesal is on the radar of terrorists. Hizbul Mujahideen has called this 2010 IAS topper "fodder of India" and asked people not to participate in the upcoming electoral exercise. |
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