Strikes have crippled Kashmir's economy: Hurriyat constituent

Fissures were evident today in Hurriyat amalgam on the use of general strikes as a political tool, as one its constituents-- Peoples Political Party (PPP)-- said that 'hartals' have crippled the Kashmir's economy and pushed people "further away" from the movement.
"When we thrust 'hartals' on people, we deprive them, knowingly or unknowingly, of earning a livelihood which is tantamount to the violation of right to life," chairman of PPP Hilal Ahmed War said.
He was addressing a seminar on Human Rights at Hurriyat headquarters here.
Hilal appealed to the separatist leadership to refrain from giving frequent strike calls as it amounts to violation of human rights.

He said regular strikes have crippled the economy of Kashmiris, which can prove "gravely detrimental to the movement in the long run".
The PPP leader asked the separatist leadership to formulate a concrete strategy as an alternative to strikes which have yielded nothing except pushing people further away from the movement.

When people are deprived of their basic needs, while the leadership has an affluent lifestyle, it does not do any good to the movement. It is a serious issue and should be addressed at the earliest, he said.
The separatist leader also said religion and Kashmir issue should not be mixed up because Kashmir is a politico-human issue.

We should not bring religion into it and some of our senior leaders who try to colour our movement communal are doing a great damage to it, he said.