Srinagar, Jan 18 (PTI) Kashmiri separatist leaders todayclaimed that Army Chief General Bipin Rawat's statement onKashmir was an "acceptance of facts", but said there cannot bea military solution to the Kashmir issue.
General Rawat said yesterday that the people in Kashmirhad realised that it was very difficult to secede from Indiaand they were also getting tired of militancy.
"They have seen it for too long and they have realised(that) it hasn't given them what they had desired for. Let metell you...with a country like India, to seek independencefrom a nation where we have strong armed forces, where we havea strong democracy, and a very strong government, you cannotsecede from India. This is what the people have realised," thearmy chief said.
Reacting to the statement, the separatists, at a jointpress conference, said it was a clear indication that GeneralRawat had accepted the fact that the majority of the people inJammu and Kashmir "are demanding their right to self-determination and freedom".
"This statement is an admission of what the people ofKashmir want. This is a clear indication that he has acceptedthe fact that the majority of the people of J-K are demandingtheir right to self-determination and 'azadi' (freedom)...,"Mirwaiz Umar Farooq told reporters at his Nigeen residencehere.
The Mirwaiz, the head of the moderate faction of theHurriyat Conference, was flanked by Jammu Kashmir LiberationFront (JKLF) chief Yasin Malik.
The hardline Hurriyat Conference chairman, Syed Ali ShahGeelani, addressed the presser telephonically.
The three have come together on a united platform underthe name of Joint Resistance Leadership.
The Mirwaiz said the Army chief's statement was a clearindication of New Delhi's policy on Kashmir.
He said there cannot be a military solution to theKashmir issue.
"Let it be absolutely clear that the Kashmir issue cannotbe resolved (and) Kashmiris cannot be pushed to the wall,thorough intimidation, force or coercion," he said.
On the NIA charge sheet against 12 people in connectionwith the funding of terror activities in Jammu and Kashmir,the Mirwaiz said it was an effort to mislead the people of thecountry.
"There is an all-out effort on part of the government tomislead the people of India and the people of the world togive them an impression that this is a sponsored struggle andpeople are in this for money. We reject this. This is a merepropaganda...We are not scared and we won't be cowed down," hesaid.
Speaking on the occasion, Malik said Pakistan was notinvolved with the 2016 agitation and dared the NIA to arrestthe separatist trio who, he said, were behind issuing protestcalendars that year.
Geelani also said the NIA accusations have no basis anddemanded immediate release of all the accused who are underthe NIA custody.
He said it was New Delhi's policy to link the "strugglein Kashmir" with terrorism.
"The struggle of Kashmiris is not terrorism, our struggleis different. We want a peaceful resolution of the issue," hesaid. PTI SSB MIJSMN.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.