Says Indian Muslims always support Kashmiris
SRINAGAR: Saying that different minority communities and not only the Muslims were being persecuted in India, a noted journalist today said, Indian Muslims have always shown concern about Kashmir.
Holding Indian media and Central Government responsible for the execution of Mohammad Afzal Guru, Islamic scholar, columnist and editor of the Milli Gazette, Dr Zafar-ul-Islam Khan said that he was aghast at learning the verdict of Supreme Court that Afzal was hanged to satisfy the collective conscience of Indian people.
India is not a Roman Amphitheatre where you could force a person to die between wild animals. Media created such hype that everyone came to believe that Afzal was a real terrorist. Both media and Central Government were responsible for his execution. Afzal didnt get a fair trial and I firmly believe that justice was murdered, he said adding that there is a particular section in India which doesnt want peace to prevail in country, Khan said in an interview with a local news gathering agency CNS.
Stressing the need for giving a new dimension to peace process, he said India and Pakistan should sit across the table to iron out their differences. India being a bigger country has to play its positive role in the region, he said adding Kashmir was an issue and unfinished agenda of partition, which needed to be resolved amicably.
He said it was baseless that Indian Muslims do not support the cause of Kashmiri people. We raised our voice and showed concern whenever Army and other security agencies harassed people, rapped women and tortured youth. All the Muslim organizations in India expressed solidarity with Kashmir people whenever any mishappening occurred there, Dr Zafar-ul-Islam Khan said adding that Muslims in India dont want Kashmir to secede from India as they relate their existence with the Muslims of Kashmir.
Khan said that it was incorrect that Muslims of India were not aware about the problems faced by people in Kashmir. He said the in the garb of terrorism, not only in Kashmir but all over India minority communities especially Muslim youth were being harassed and indicted. Communalism has taken its roots in India and every political party was busy appeasing communalists. Communalism has taken over secularism. The poison of communalism is eating away the country and Muslim youth were becoming its prey, he said.
Condemning the act of Press Club of India (PCI) for not allowing Kashmiri victims to hold a press conference in New Delhi, Dr Zafar-ul-Islam Khan said that Kashmiri organizations should file a case against PCI. PCI is meant for the purpose of holding news conference. Whatever PCI did was totally undemocratic and unethical. It was irony that first the families of victims from Kashmir were not allowed to hold a peaceful sit-in and later on were barred from holding a press conference, Khan said adding that it was our constitutional right to protest peacefully and yet people of Kashmir were not allowed to register peaceful protests.
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