Srinagar: Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq on Friday said that the ban on his Awami Action Committee was unjustified based on unfounded allegations as the party since its inception has advocated the politics of outreach, dialogue and resolution and opposed all forms of violence.
Mirwaiz addressed Friday congregation at historic Jama Masjid in Srinagar, for the first time since his organization AAC was banned by the Ministry of Home Affairs on March 11, for five years. The ban was imposed for allegedly fuelling anti-India propaganda and secessionism in J&K. The AAC and other organization Ittehad ul Muslimeen, have been banned under sub section 1 of section 3 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (37 of 1967) and the associations have been declared as unlawful. The Hurriyat leader said that AAC has advocated dialogue with youngsters who had taken up arms to the then V P Singh government in 1990 and pursued the path of dialogue with Atal Bihari Vajpayee and L K Advani of the BJP and Manmohan Singh of the Congress.
“Generic allegations made against AAC in the ban order are not only strange but also ironic. Those who suffered personal tragedies yet practised patience and advocated peace even in most trying times, are accused of disrupting law and order and creating unrest. These allegations are unfounded in the face of facts and the party’s glorious history since its inception in 1964,” said Mirwaiz. The Hurriyat leader said that in 1983 his father, the late Mirwaiz Moulvi Farooq, as president of AAC took the initiative to bury the hatchet and reach out to arch rivals of decades (National Conference) as he was pursuing his vision of strengthening and empowering people through unity and peace.
“Late Mirwaiz Moulvi Farooq had the moral courage of conviction that made him go against the tide and openly on national media condemn the abduction of the young woman (Rubiya Sayed, daughter of then Union Home Minister Mufti Sayed) asking the abductors for her immediate release as Islam and humanity totally forbid such cowardly acts,” said Mirwaiz. “I want to ask those who have banned AAC, that is the organization founded by a man of such principles, a threat to law and order? Decision to ban AAC is harsh and uncalled for and should be revoked,” said Mirwaiz.
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The Hurriyat leader said that it is a different thing that the present ruling dispensation in New Delhi has a different take on the issue, but that does not make AAC an “unlawful association.” He thanked people and parties including Kashmiri Pandit and Sikh community who condemned the ban and stood with the party