Mirwaiz

Jammu, Feb. 5: Mirwaiz Umer Farooq’s cavalcade was stoned, allegedly by Shiv Sainiks, when the Hurriyat Conference chairman was on his way to address a meeting in the border town of Samba.

The Mirwaiz was unhurt though some stones landed on his car, cracking a windowpane. “I am okay. It is the frustration of those forces seeking to keep the pot boiling,” he later said.

Reports said the Shiv Sena activists had information of the Mirwaiz’s visit to the town, 40 km southwest of Jammu. They held a demonstration there and also burnt the Hurriyat leader’s effigy. When they spotted his cavalcade, they started pelting stones.

The incident, however, did not upset the Mirwaiz’s scheduled meeting, where he told people to shed their inhibitions about the Hurriyat Conference and come forward.

“We are here to have a heart-to-heart talk, not to complicate issues.

“Those who are trying to vent their anger through such acts ? stoning and burning of effigies ? are not helping matters. Instead, they are working to the tune of those who do not want any solution to emerge out of Kashmir crisis,” the Hurriyat chairman said.

He reiterated that the Hurriyat is as keen on building bridges between the people of the state as it is on India-Pakistan friendship. “Once that happens, half of our problem is solved, for a conducive atmosphere would be there for the progress of talks.

“We are not talking of any particular solution. We are for a solution that emerges out of a process of dialogue and consultations. We are here to interact,” he said.

The Hurriyat leader also held a meeting with representatives of Kashmiri Pandits in Jammu.

He assured them that they would be welcomed back in the Valley with open arms. “We are waiting for you. Don’t delay your return. You are part of us, and we are incomplete without you.”