By IANS
Srinagar : Unveiling a roadmap for peace, the moderate Hurriyat group of Mirwaiz Umer Farooq Monday urged Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to take a bold initiative to resolve the vexed Kashmir issue that has bedevilled India-Pakistan ties for the past 60 years.
Kashmir must have its own president, prime minister, constitution, legislative assembly and Supreme Court, Kashmir's chief cleric declared while addressing some 15,000 supporters at the martyrs' graveyard in downtown Srinagar on the 17th anniversary of the assassination of his father, Mirwaiz Molvi Muhammad Farooq.
Umer also demanded the demilitarization of both the Indian and Pakistan administered parts of Kashmir.
"Demilitarization is not something which only we want, it is the demand of the people living on the two sides of the Line of Control," Umer maintained.
"We are not shy of holding talks with New Delhi. We have a strong case and are ready to talk to anybody, but those talks must be without any pre-conditions," former Hurriyat chairman Abdul Gani Bhat told the gathering.
The authorities had made elaborate security arrangements at the venue of the meeting, with a large deployment of paramilitary troopers and the local police.
Senior separatist leader and People's Conference founder Abdul Gani Lone was assassinated by unidentified gunmen at the same venue in 2002 even as he prepared to address the anniversary gathering of the late Mirwaiz.
Meanwhile, the Kashmir Valley observed a shutdown today in response to the moderate Hurriyat's call with markets and educational institutions remaining closed and public transport remaining off the roads, even as private transport vehicles plied as normal in this Kashmir summer capital.
[photo by Steve Evans]Â