Separatist leaders slam Army Chief for remark

Srinagar: Kashmiri separatists on Thursday reacted sharply to Army Chief, General Bipin Rawat’s, remark that neither militants can fight the Army nor will aazadi (freedom) happen in the restive State.

The Army Chief in an interview to a national newspaper had said that the Kashmiri youth should not “get carried away unnecessarily” and should understand that the Army will always fight those who want to secede. He was quoted by the newspaper also saying, “I want to tell Kashmiri youth that Aazadi isn’t possible. It won’t happen. Why are you picking up weapons? We will always fight those who seek Aazadi, those who want to secede. Aazadi is not going to happen, never.” Reacting to the Gen. Rawat’s assertions, separatist leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said the longing of people of Kashmir “to be the masters of their own fate is far stronger than any military power”.

The Mirwaiz also said, “Gen. Rawat’s threat that Army will bomb us like Syria is real but so is the resilience of people to stand by their commitment to achieving the universal right to freedom and self-determination for which they have been consistently struggling for the last 70 years and hugely sacrificing. Army chiefs come and go. But the commitment made by both Indian and Pakistani leadership at the UN and ratified by the world to the people of Kashmir stands and gives the current situation its context”. He asserted that the Kashmir conflict “is a political problem and can be addressed politically. Military solution will make it chronic”. Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front  chairman Muhammad Yasin Malik said that the Army’s Chief’s remarks were “illogical”.

 He said, “He needs to revisit basic historical facts before issuing such threats to a nation that has taken pledged to achieve freedom come what may”.

He added, “From boasting about Indian military might to talking about trains, fruit business and tourism, General Rawat wants Kashmiris to surrender before Indian might without even realizing that many generals before him failed to achieve this”.

He further said, “Our reply to Gen. Rawat is the same that was given by Gandhiji to a British envoy who had posed same type of question to him that how can poor Indian fight British military might and survive as an independent state without British help, Gandhi had replied that he would prefer a non-competent poor independent country over a competent and wealthy illegal occupation and slavery.” The JKLF leader said that if the Army Chief ‘No aazadi’ remark contained any ingredient of reality, more than half of the world, including India, would have been still reeling under foreign occupations today.

Shabir Shah’s Jammu Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party (JKDFP) said that Gen. Rawat’s latest statement was in quite contrast to his last one where he had said that issues must be resolved mutually. “We promise people like Gen. Rawat will see the success of Kashmiri people with their own eyes. History bears witness to the fact that just movements have always achieved success against mightiest military powers of the world and he must read the freedom struggle of his own country as a glaring example of that”.

The JKDFP said, “We firmly believe that Aazadi is our fate and people like Gen. Rawat and the whole world will see it. Just wait and watch.”

Kashmiris, who have sacrificed a lot to achieve their goal, cannot even think to surrender before military might however they believe in resolving issues politically and politely.

Independent MLA and leader of Awani Itehad Party Engineer Rashid said “Army generals should restrain from making political statements if India claims to be the democracy and by saying that Kashmiris will never get Aazadi, Gen. Rawat has crossed his domain as Kashmir issue doesn’t need recognition neither from State Assembly nor from any Army general or somebody else, to be called a dispute”. He said that it was painful that within 24 hours of the all-party meet the BJP and Gen. Rawat started speaking in one tune and rejecting the idea of ceasefire. “Those in uniform and opposing the ceasefire are in fact the only beneficiaries of death and destruction for more than one reasons”, he alleged. End it