Srinagar: Hurriyat Conference leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq on Saturday said people of Kashmir and its leadership should play a "positive role" in the changing scenario when India and Pakistan are inching closer.
"When India and Pakistan are inching closer with trade and other confidence building measures, Kashmiri people and their leadership need to play a positive role so that decks are cleared for resolution of the long standing Kashmir issue," Mirwaiz said here.
He was addressing a meeting in Amalgam here.
The meeting, attended by minority community leaders including Sikhs and Kashmiri Pandits, was convened by Hurriyat as part of its `meet the people` programme, aimed at building a consensus ahead of its proposed visit to Pakistan later this month.
"Kashmiris are the worst sufferers of the animosity between India and Pakistan. We have initiated a process and our efforts at this time, when the leadership of India and Pakistan and the people are coming closer, are aimed at playing a role in finding a solution to the (Kashmir) issue with new thought and approach," Mirwaiz said.
Referring to the meeting, he said it was aimed at assuring the minorities living in the state that they are our own and without their support it is impossible to move forward.
"I am happy that the gap created two decades back among the communities is vanishing and we are coming together again," Mirwaiz said.
He said Kashmir is not only a political issue but a human issue as well, and needs to be looked this way.
PTI
