Holding international events in J&K no substitute to dialogue needed to address region’s conflict: Hurriyat

Srinagar, May 21 (PTI) The Hurriyat Conference on Sunday said holding international events in Jammu and Kashmir is not a substitute to the need to address the conflict in the region for ensuring peace and development.

“Conducting international summits in Jammu and Kashmir to push a certain narrative will not change the reality of the need to address and resolve the lingering Kashmir conflict peacefully, through dialogue among stakeholders, if peace and development of J-K is the goal,” it said in a statement here.

The Kashmir Valley will host a three-day G20 working group meeting on tourism starting from Monday. China has already refused to attend the meeting in Srinagar.

The Hurriyat, headed by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, also paid tributes to Mirwaiz Mohammad Farooq and former separatist leader Abdul Gani Lone, who both fell to the bullets of militants on this day in 1990 and 2002, respectively.

“In the martyrdom of Mirwaiz Farooq, the nation lost a great selfless leader, the guiding force of whose beliefs and actions was safeguarding the concerns and interests of his people. His approach to addressing them was dynamic rather than rigid. He believed that inclusiveness and dialogue was the best way to address concerns and resolve conflicts,” the separatist amalgam said.

Paying tributes to Lone, the Hurriyat said he was a far-sighted and fearless leader who sacrificed his life for his belief in a peaceful resolution of the Kashmir issue.