(REOPENS DEL31)

Referring to the firing incident in Magam yesterday thatleft four persons dead, Omar said, "We have to see why an areawhich did not give any trouble for 40 days has suddenlyerupted. "Wanton arrests have been effected, cases are beingfiled (against the youth). PSA is being slapped on them. "It seems a reaction is being induced and it is theresult of these actions that peaceful areas are now becomingpart of the agitation," he said. On the use of pellet guns as crowd control weapon, Omarsaid all parties have spoken against it. "The issue has figured in Parliament as well but forsome reason, it’s use is not stopped." In response to a question, Omar said the idea of Kashmirbeing an integral part of the country should not be limited toits land only. "The people of Kashmir have to be owned. It ismind-boggling that a far lesser agitation in Gujarat had nolesser a person that the Prime Minister addressing that statein Gujarati from Delhi because he owned the people. "Why is that we don’t get owned? Why is it that ouranger does not get owned?" he asked. Asked if the opposition parties will demand resignationof Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti and her government, Omar saidit was not about the chair. "We have not demanded resignation because it would seemwe want to be in the chair. It is not about the chair, it isabout saving the future generation of Kashmir…. "It is about the eight-year-olds, the ten-year-olds andthe 12-year-olds who are out on the streets," he said. Omar said the opposition will act responsibly andcontribute towards improving the situation. Asked if today’s meeting will bear any fruit, Omar saidthe mainstream opposition parties were as relevant today asthey were before the start of the current agitation. "If you are saying that we are irrelevant today, thenHurriyat Conference should be irrelevant during normalcy. "But the fact is that neither are we irrelevant today,no are the Hurriyat during the times of normalcy," he added. He said the opposition parties’ delegation will go toDelhi and press for a dialogue with all stakeholders. "He( Modi) has made unscheduled visit to Lahore andrecently our Home Minister visited Islamabad. "The dialogue has continued and we hope the dialoguecontinues but for the dialogue to work, both sides have to beinterested. "Therefore I hope both the countries, India and Pakistan,should take requisite steps to improve the environment so thatdialogue is possible," he said. Omar said that political parties have been supporters ofdialogue with Pakistan. "Be it Atal Behari Vajpayee’s dialogue with Pakistan,the Manmohan Singh dialogue or the Narendra Modi dialogue withPakistan, we believe that dialogue is the only way forward." Replying to another query, he said, "I cannot see a warlike situation. There is a lot of tension in relations betweenthe two countries and it is the resposibility of the twonations to reduce the tension. "It is not as if there has been no war between India andPakistan. We have fought more than three wars but nothing hasbeen achieved." Omar said the opposition parties will demand a specialsession of the state Assembly so that a threadbare discussionon the current situation can be held. "If Parliament can pass resolution on Jammu and Kashmir,I see no reason why an Assembly session cannot be called andall of us cannot put forward resolutions with regard to Jammuand Kashmir," he said. PTI MIJRT