Separatists lash out at Farooq Abdullah for remarks on PoK

Srinagar: Separatist groups on Saturday hit out at former chief minister Farooq Abdullah for his statement on Jammu and Kashmir and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, claiming it was far from ground reality in the state.

"Farooq Abdullah's statement is meaningless and far from reality. No one person has the mandate to make any suggestion (for resolution of Kashmir issue)...," hardline Hurriyat Conference leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani said in a statement.

Abdullah had yesterday said that PoK will continue to be under Pakistan while Jammu and Kashmir will remain with India.

Moderate faction of Hurriyat headed by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq also criticised the former chief minister's statement, terming it as "historically incorrect".

"Kashmir is an internationally accepted disputed territory and the resolution of the dispute would be possible only by resolving it in accordance with the aspirations of the people of Kashmir," its spokesman said.

"The Hurriyat stands for the re-unification of all five regions of the state of Jammu Kashmir which includes Kashmir, Jammu, Ladakh, Azad Kashmir (PoK) and Gilgit-Baltistan," he said.

The spokesman said "nobody's personal viewpoint could change the disputed character of Kashmir or change the political and historical realities of the issue".

Pro-independence JKLF chairman Mohammad Yasin Malik said Abdullah's statement was a case of "slave mentality".