Shahi Imam's missive to Sharif says peoples of Kashmir are in "state of terror"

New Delhi: In an unprecedented gesture, the Imam of Delhi's Jama Masjid Syed Ahmed Bukhari has written a letter to Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and urged him to "persuade militant youth and Hurriyat leaders" to agree for ceasefire. "Whenever ties between two countries are tense, it directly affects the Muslims of India," he wrote, according to the text of the letter that has gone viral in the internet.

Stating that the "Kashmir issue" cannot be solved through guns and stones nor through "military expeditions", he said, "We should create an atmosphere conducive for the talks at the earliest". "Thousands of people are living under the shadow of Ak-47, a life besieged by bloodshed," he wrote. In his letter dated June 22, Bukhari stated he was writing to Pakistan PM Sharif in the month of 'Ramadun-ul-Mubarak', and lamented that the peaceful valley has now become "a valley of tears". "The Kashmir situation is becoming volatile day by day, resulting in an increase in tensions between the two countries (India and Pakistan) as days pass.

 I think that more delay in the creation of a favorable environment for peace shall make the settlement of the Kashmir issue more difficult," Bukhari said in his letter to Sharif. "Therefore, with all the intellect, wisdom and prudence at our disposal, we must make every effort to safe Kashmir from the dangerous destruction and devastation it faces and pave the way for the establishment of peace there.

The common people of Kashmir are in a state of terror and helplessness as they find their dreams for peace shattered," he said. Meanwhile, a RSS ideologue Rakesh Sinha said that such letters from the Imam would only give legitimacy and authentication to the Hurriyat. "Such authentication is against India's interest and diplomacy," he has been quoted in a section of media. AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi was also critical of Shahi Imam and he tweeted in a rather sarcastic tone: "If Mughal king Jahangir knew that Shahi Imam of Masjid would outlast Mughals kingdom ,Jahangir would have become Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid" (UNI)