... Why were we arrested when we had committed no offence? We were held on September 8 while campaigning for a boycott of the general election. Election Commissioner GVG Krishnamurthy himself had declared that just as campaigning for elections is lawful, campaigning against elections too is lawful. Since there was no justification for our arrest, why should we consider our releáse as a goodwill gesture?

The situation arising out of the massacre of the Sikhs, the gunning down of the alleged killers whom people thought were innocent, the public furore over this, and the death of seven in police firing in the consequent demonstration, illustrates that Kashmir is on the boil. The situation demands an immediate resolution of the Kashmir problem.

The way out is tripartite talks invoiving India, Pakistan and Kashmir. Our expericlicc of 52 years tells us that the issue can't be resolved bilaterally ...

… The only viable way of ending the strife is tripartite talks involving the Hurriyat (as representatives of the Kashmiri people), India and Pakistan. It would be unfair and unwise to exclude the Kashmiris from any process of settlement. Similarly, without involving Pakistan, we can't have a durable solution. It's a party to the dispute and holds one-third territory of Kashmir.

War can’t solve any problem But when a problem is not addressed through peaceful means, people will be forced to do war.

We want peace from the core of our hearts. But the impediments to peace have to be first removed. Initially, the Kashmiris were fighting ... What did India do to resolve the problem when 90 per cent of the militants were local Kashmiris? In any case, India's interpretation of right and wrong is selective ...

Ours is a freedom struggle. Every quam (community) has a right to struggle for its freedom. Indian Muslims are Indian by option. Kashmir has nothing to do with Indian Muslims ... All these can be discussed in tripartite talks. I'm not willing to say anything more about what deal would be acceptable to us at this stage.

The autonomy package proposed by the Farooq Abdullah Government is not acceptable, because it neither involves the Hurriyat nor Pakistan.

If there's a formal invitation, we will consider. Some of our men are still in jail. We're prepared for polls to select the representatives of the Kashmiris, provided these are held under international supervision. But, who established that Yasser Arafat was the representative of the Palestinians? Did elections determine this? Who established that Mandela was the representative of the South African blacks? ...

We want a comprehensive solution to the Kashmir problem. Elections, whether to panchayats or the assembly or Parliament, are no solution. They haven't worked. (Source: The Hindustan Times, 9 April, 2000)