At a press conference at his Hyderpora residence a day after being released from nearly 3 months of jail, Geelani said that India was trying to turn the Muslim majority of Jammu and Kashmir into a minority by settling people from Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and other states in the Jammu province.
“What Israel did in Palestine, India is doing in Kashmir with a view to changing the demographic character of the state,” Geelani said.
“What is surprising is that three lakh Biharis stay behind in the valley in the harsh winter,” he said.
Maintaining that Kashmir was a disputed territory right from Gilgit-Baltistan upto the Lakhanpur border, Geelani said that this was being conveyed to both India and Pakistan.
“Permanent peace in the region cannot be guaranteed unless the entire state is given the right to self determination,” he said.
Any geographical change is unacceptable to Kashmiris. The only solution to the Kashmir issue is the right to self determination. The people of Kashmir, Gilgit, Baltistan and Azad Kashmir should be allowed to decide their fate,” he said.
Geelani said that the Indian forces were steadily encroaching upon and occupying Kashmiri land and that the valley had been turned into a garrison with 8 lakh troops to tackle less than a thousand militants.
“The time has come for the people of Kashmir to stand up against this occupation, and press for a total withdrawal of forces from our state. The Hurriyat will announce a comprehensive programme of agitation after Ramzan,” he said.
The Hurriyat (G) chairman ridiculed the government claims that the separatist leaders were creating a law and problem, saying that it was the government forces that resorted to force and violence on peaceful demonstrators.
“The government says that we were arrested for creating law and order problems. The government claims are fabricated and baseless. Not us but the government forces were resorting to violence by firing tear gas shells and bullets on peaceful protesters, besides arresting our innocent youth,” Geelani said.
Geelani said that that the Shopian tragedy had left deep scars on his soul.
“If only I could open my chest to show you the huge wounds the tragedy has left on my heart,” he said.
“The government investigations have mutilated the case beyond recognition. Those who ought to have been prosecuted are being protected, and those who should have been defended are being vilified,” he said.
Geelani lashed out at the Jan commission, saying that instead of striving to find the guilty, it had resorted to character assassination of the victims.
“The police officers arrested for destroying evidence are not lodged in jail. They have been lodged at Humhama police colony, where they enjoy all facilities,” he said.
The veteran separatist said that the record of India’s premier investigating agency, the CBI, had always remained murky and that the people should not expect the agency to come up with the truth. He also referred to the infamous sex scandal that rocked the valley in year 2006, to substantiate his argument.
“The CBI will not do anything apart from dragging the case,” Geelani said, adding that the Bar Association would deal with the case and ensure that the culprits were found and punished.
Defending the silence of Jammu Muslims over the Shopian tragedy, Geelani said that they had kept quiet as they lived under the shadow of the gun. “Jammu Muslims have been victimized by the army, the police, the village defense committees and Hindu extremist parties like the BJP, the VHP, the Shiv Sena and the Bajrang Dal,” he said.
“The Jammu Muslims are equally grieved over the Shopian incident. They can’t express it, they can’t condemn it because they living under the barrel of the gun,” he said.
“I’m not happy with my release. I want the release of all Kashmiri prisoners from Indian jails, including those who were arrested from my residence,” Geelani said.
He said several of his associates and guests had been arrested by the police from his Hyderpora residence along with him.
“But despite promises, police did not release them and instead booked them under the Public Safety Act. He said 24 of his party activists and leaders were arrested and booked under PSA.
“I refused to move out from the Humhama police station. But the officials promised that my associates and guests would be released,” he said.
Expressing his displeasure over the reportage by the media, the septuagenarian leader urged the media to represent the sentiments of the Kashmiri nation. Some newspapers, he said, were giving three deck headlines to government news, while scant importance was being giving to the content of the pro-freedom leadership. He urged the media to put the truth of Kashmir before the world community.
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