The All-Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) says it hopes that the new faces in New Delhi will mean a new mentality and respect for international law. The APHC also says it hopes that the new political reality in the capital will honour the pledges India had given to the people of Kashmir and to its neighbour, Pakistan. If it does the things it says it will do that might help in resolving the Kashmir dispute according to UN Security Council resolutions of 1948 and 1949 and bring an end to the misery confronting countless thousands of Kashmiris.

Umar Farooq, Chairman of the APHC has expressed the hope that the new Indian prime minister would recognise the political nature of the Kashmir conflict and initiate realistic measures to start a dialogue between the governments of Pakistan, India and representatives of Kashmir.

Reacting to the coalition government in India, he said that the Congress Party had militarised Jammu and Kashmir state and had converted Kashmir into a cantonment. He hoped that the new government would seek a political settlement to the issue and end military rule in the valley.

Abdul Gani Lone, another leader of the APHC, said he too hoped that the coalition government would undo the state terrorism in Kashmir. "Our sisters have been raped, thousands have been killed. The Congress Party has brought all these miseries on us. Nevertheless, now we expect that something will change," he added.

Meanwhile, the APHC (Azad Kashmir chapter) has sent a memorandum to Indian Prime Minister Mr. Deve Gowda, through the High Commissioner for India in Pakistan, Islamabad.

The memorandum states:

On behalf of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, the APHC seeks your attention to the worsening situation in Jammu and Kashmir, a UN recognised disputed territory, which was forcibly occupied by India in 1947.

Suppression of the political will of the people by all possible means is the policy being perused by India through her forces and renegade militants sponsored and financed by the occupation troops in Kashmir. Even the political leadership is not being spared and are under a constant threat of Indian forces and their collaborators. Life, property and honour of innocent people is at stake not only because they boycotted the farcical elections but also because of their demand to implement UN resolutions as well as the pledges given by India and Pakistan.

The APHC strongly condemns this high handedness against the people of Kashmir. The disputed status has neither lapsed because of passage of time nor can it be extinguished by the use of brute force.

The APHC notices with sorrow, the contradiction, that on one hand, the United Front seeks "the resolution of the problem by consulting with the wishes of the Kashmiri people" while on the other hand, assassination attempts on the lives of two prominent leaders of the APHC Syed Ali Gilani and Abdul Gani Lone were made again on June 8th 1996.

Deliberate attempts to liquidate Kashmiri leaders and negotiations with renegade militants will leave no room for a political and negotiated settlement of the issue. Politically orphaned Kashmiris will be left with no other choice but to resort to "MILITANCY."

The APHC seeks a peaceful settlement of the dispute through negotiations across the table (in a favourable and conducive climate) on the principle of self determination as enshrined in UN resolutions (to which both India & Pakistan are signatories) involving the peoples' representatives, India, and Pakistan.

Peaceful resolution of the Kashmir conflict lies in respecting the aspirations of the Kashmiri people.