Hurriyat chairman and Kashmir’s chief cleric, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, said that his father, Mirwaiz Moulana Farooq, and J&K Peoples Conference founder Abdul Ghani Lone believed dialogue was the best way to solve the Kashmir conflict. He was speaking on their death anniversaries on Wednesday. Both leaders were assassinated. Farooq was shot dead on May 21, 1990, and Lone was gunned down on May 21, 2002. He said, “Their views are once again being echoed globally as the only viable path to peace.”
“The political foresight that both these leaders exhibited, their faith in resolution of the Kashmir conflict through dialogue, which they saw as the best means to end lingering uncertainty for the people of J&K and as the catalyst for ensuring peace and stability in the region, is once again acknowledged by the world as the way forward. Hope India and Pakistan pay heed to it,” the Mirwaiz said, in a statement.
The Mirwaiz paid tributes to his late father and also remembered Khawaja Abdul Ghani Lone Sahab and the “70 innocent mourners who died in the Hawal massacre on the same date.”
Painful memories
“21st May is upon us, and painful memories are revived. Quaid-e-Kashmir to his people, Mirwaiz Molvi Mohammad Farooq was on this day taken away from them by gunmen, his distraught mourners sprayed with bullets, leaving seventy dead. Even after 35 years, the vacuum his death created is present, more keenly felt with each passing year. His guidance is deeply missed,” the Mirwaiz said.
J&K PC chief Sajad Lone spoke about the loss of his father. “He (Mr. Lone) sacrificed his life in pursuit of his dream for peace. Those were even darker days than today. Speaking the truth often invited retribution. I remember when he died, we called him the Martyr to Peace. Never in these 23 years has the need for peace dawned on us as it has in the last thirty days,” Mr. Lone said.
“May those who killed him burn in hell, and may all those cowards who kill non-combatants, civilians, and innocent tourists burn in hell,” Mr. Lone added.
Former J&K chief minister and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president, Mehbooba Mufti, also paid her tributes. “Today marks the solemn death anniversary of Mirwaiz Mohammad Farooq Sahab & Abdul Gani Lone Sahab. Two prominent Kashmiri figures known for their efforts to promote peace and dialogue in the region. Their deaths remain a tragic reminder of the heavy cost of violence in the region and the urgent need for peace and reconciliation,” she said, in a post on X.
Published – May 22, 2025 04:20 am IST
