No court has jurisdiction to tinker with Article 35-A: Mirwaiz

Srinagar, Aug 10: Addressing the Friday gathering at Jamia Masjid here, Hurriyat (M) chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said that no court has the jurisdiction to tamper with the 1927 hereditary state subject laws of J&K because UN resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir clearly state that the citizens of J&K are to decide their final dispensation as a people, by exercising the right to self-determination, a right which is yet to be exercised by us. Mirwaiz, as per the Hurriyat (M) spokesman, said: “the commitment to Right to Self Determination was made to people of J&K by the PM of India himself both before people of J&K and before the world.” “So how can any court challenge the UN resolutions and the commitments made by Government of India that took the shape of constitutional safeguards till the latter honoured its commitments?” Mirwaiz asked. “J&K is a world acknowledged dispute and people of the state will at no cost allow dilution of the dispute till it is resolved,” he added. He said the move of tinkering with Article 35-A is aimed at “undermining the dispute, by changing the demography of the state, settling outsiders here and making the locals a minority in their own land along the Israeli pattern in Palestine.” “That this will not be tolerated was shown by the exceptional protest strike observed by the people of the whole state from end to end on 5 and 6th of August,” he said. Mirwaiz said that the Joint Hurriyat leadership is urgently deliberating upon the issue and taking all segments of society on board to launch a massive protest agitation “to counter this onslaught against us”. Mirwaiz said that no effort will be spared to safeguard the interests of people of J&K and its disputed nature. “Tremendous sacrifices offered by people who is standing its ground in the face of such a mighty adversary speaks volumes about the courage and determination of its brave inhabitants,” he said.