India scared of taking bold initiative on Kashmir: Mirwaiz

Moderate Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umer Farooq on Monday said India was scared of taking any bold political initiative on the Kashmir issue and urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to evolve a consensus on finding ways and means to resolve the problem in a permanent and amicable manner.

"The time has come for the prime minister to evolve a consensus on the Kashmir issue. He should initiate talks with the Bharatiya Janata Party, Left and other political parties on finding ways to resolve the contentious problem," Mirwaiz told a public meeting in Srinagar.

He said India was "scared" of taking any bold initiative while Pakistan had shown "great flexibility" vis-a-vis the resolution of the vexed Kashmir issue.

The Hurriyat chairman was addressing the public meeting at the martyrs' graveyard at Eidgah grounds in Srinagar to mark the death anniversaries of assassinated leaders Mirwaiz Moulvi Mohammad Farooq and Abdul Ghani Lone.

"Kashmir is a political and not a military issue. It should be resolved through political ways and means only," he added.

Mirwaiz said the Hurriyat Conference was ready to take any bold initiative on the long-festering Kashmir issue.

"We are ready to tread on those roads which lead to the resolution of the Kashmir issue and future building of the people," he added.