Srinagar, Jan 18: The Chairman of Hurriyat Conference (M) Mirwaiz Umar Farooq Friday demanded that the Jammu and Kashmir government should conduct DNA testing of all those buried in unmarked graves across the State to “unravel the mystery behind them.” He also slammed the government for “failing to address the people’s woes” after the snowfall in Kashmir saying “they are now coming to us with their grievances.”
Addressing people at the historic Jamia Masjid here, Mirwaiz said he was “shocked” with the reports of presence of 60 more unmarked graves in central Kashmir’s Budgam district. “The total number of such graves in Jammu and Kashmir has crossed 6000. The State government should not waste time and conduct DNA mapping of all those buried in unmarked graves to unravel the mystery therein,” he said. He said it was unfortunate to see the silence being observed by the United Nations and other international bodies over the serious issues that people of Kashmir face.
According to the Coalition of Civil Society, an independent rights group operating in J&K, there are 6217 unmarked graves in five districts of the State. As per the government-run State Human Rights Commission (SHRC), there are, however, only 2165 such graves at 38 sites in north Kashmir.
On recent skirmishes along the Line of Control, the Mirwaiz said “such situations will continue till the resolution of Kashmir dispute which is the root cause of tension between India and Pakistan.” “So my suggestion to both the countries would be that they need to work for Kashmir resolution,” he said.
He said war is no solution as it would bring destruction in view of the fact that both countries possess nuclear weapons. “It is time for India and Pakistan to address the root cause of the rift between them. New Delhi should announce immediate demilitarization in Kashmir so that conducive atmosphere is created on ground for a meaningful dialogue,” he said.
Talking to Greater Kashmir, the Hurriyat (M) Chairman said the amalgam was concerned over the recent life-sentences awarded to Kashmiris. “It is irony that those who are being acquitted by the courts are being re-framed in one or the other cases,” he said.
On public woes due to fresh snowfall, the Mirwaiz said people have now started approaching the Hurriyat leaders with their grievances. “This indicates that the J&K government led by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has failed on all fronts. Omar used to claim that his government’s primary responsibility is to address the basic problems of the people. We can see that government has vanished with just few inches of snow,” he said. “There is no sign of government on ground. The electricity is off, roads are waterlogged, prices of essential commodities have gone sky-rocketing and LPG crisis is everywhere. So the government is just invisible.”

Lastupdate on : Fri, 18 Jan 2013 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Fri, 18 Jan 2013 18:30:00 GMT
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