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Hizb wants to give peace a chance: Salah-ud-din

Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salah-ud-Din has said his outfit wants to give peace a chance in Jammu and Kashmir and denied that it declared the ceasefire under any pressure.

"We have taken our own decision and have not announced the ceasefire under any pressure," Salah-ud-din said in an interview to an online news agency.

Asked about the opposition to the ceasefire by several Pakistan-based militant groups, he said, "They are annoyed because India has never fulfilled any promise and think the talks offer will not bear any fruit while we want to give it a try."

Referring to the other militant outfits still active in the state, the Hizbul chief said his group was the main force in the valley and expressed the hope they would also halt their operations.

He rejected the autonmy resolution passed by the state assembly saying "we want nothing less than freedom."

Salah-ud-din criticised Jamat-e-Islami for making "irresponsible" statements on ceasefire and said "they should not have reacted so harshly without consulting us."

He also came down heavily on elected governments in Pakistan for "damaging" the Kashmir cause and said they had been making hallow claims about finding a solution to the Kashmir issue.

PTI

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