"Our demand is to the whole world community that death sentences should be abolished because if such sentences solved problems, then after hanging Maqbool Bhat, there would have been no Afzal Guru and after Guru's death, the youth of Kashmir would have disassociated with the struggle," Langate MLA Sheikh Abdul Rashid argued.
On International Human Rights Day, Rashid who had brought a clemency resolution for the Parliament attack convict in the state assembly in 2012 led a protest rally under the banner of his recently floated political outfit Awami Itehaad Party.
"The world celebrates Human Rights Day for upholding the human rights of the people. We have given sacrifices to remind India of the promises of the first Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru about holding plebiscite in Kashmir," he said.
He said the Centre should shun its "arrogance" and "solve Kashmir issue".
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The legislator demanded that the government declare the people "disappeared from the custody of security forces" dead.
"They (disappeared persons) should be declared dead. The government should close their files so that their families do not have to go through the continued agony," he said.
"He has taken a cue from me. It was I who made that change in 2008 in Langate. I have discussed these things with him before. We hope the change (that) has started from Kashmir, will reach New Delhi," he said.