Attempts at demographic engineering in held Kashmir unacceptable: APHC.

Byline: Tariq Naqash

MUZAFFARABAD -- A Srinagar-based pro-freedom alliance, led by revered cleric Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, has made it clear to India that its attempts to bring about demographic change in the disputed Muslim majority region are completely unacceptable to the Kashmiri people.

'Since 1947, there have also been attempts to change the demographic character of [Indian occupied] Jammu and Kashmir and a final nail in the coffin was hammered in this regard in August 2019,' said the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (M) in a statement from Srinagar, which was also emailed to Dawn on Thursday.

'These attempts at demographic engineering are completely unacceptable to the people of Jammu and Kashmir who have totally rejected it,' added the alliance.

According to the statement, a meeting of the alliance was held at the residence of ailing executive member Maulana Abbas AnsAari in downtown Srinagar with executive members Prof Abdul Ghani Bhat and Bilal Ghani Lone among the other participants.

Maulana Ansari, who is also a former APHC (M) chairman, has not been feeling well for quite some time.

Mirwaiz Farooq was, however, unable to participate in the meeting as he continued to be under arbitrary house arrest since August 2019, the statement added.

At the meeting, the APHC (M) leaders asked the Indian government to stop issuing domicile certificates to outsiders with a view to changing the demographic character of the internationally acknowledged disputed territory as it was not only 'causing great concern among the Kashmiri people but could also have serious consequences for the region'.

They advised the Kashmiri people to remain highly vigilant at this time and do not sell their...

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