Srinagar, Oct 4 (IANS) Senior separatist leader & Chairman of his Hurriyat group, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said on Friday that he never advocated violence or taking up the gun while contending that the elections cannot be taken as the solution to the Kashmir issue.

Delivering the Friday sermon at the Jamia Masjid in the Nowhatta area of Srinagar city after four weeks, the Mirwaiz said he never advocated the use of guns or violence and the Hurriyat always said they did not oppose elections but were against the claims that these elections are the solution to the decades-old Kashmir issue.

He told the Friday congregation that the basic issue of Kashmir is alive and any projection that elections have vindicated what happened here on August 5, 2019, is misplaced.

"Hurriyat Conference has never been against dialogue. We sat across the table with (then PM) Atal Bihari Vajpayee, (then Home Minister) L.K.Advani, and (then PM) Manmohan Singh. The Kashmir issue needs to be resolved before it takes an ugly turn as we are witnessing presently in the Middle East," he warned.

Attacking the US, he said: "They suggest ceasefire on one side and on the second side, they provide weapons to Israel to be used against Palestine, Iran and Lebanon."

The Mirwaizr reiterated: "Iron fist policy does not solve problems. On August 5, 2019, we lost our rights to land, jobs and everything else. The local politicians are there for personal interests. If they were for the interests of the people then they would have been united. We believe that Lok Sabha and assembly elections are to solve day-to-day problems like Bijli, Pani, Sadak."

He urged the Centre to start a dialogue for a permanent resolution of the Kashmir issue. "Even if our leaders are in jails under PSA or UAPA, the fact is that they represent the aspirations of the people," he claimed. He said while the people of Kashmir had completely cooperated with the peaceful and smooth conduct of the Amarnath Yatra, what justification did the administration have in closing the gates of the Jamia Masjid on important religious occasions of the local people?

Mirwaiz Umar Farooq broke away from the United Hurriyat conference headed by Syed Ali Shah Geelani on September 7, 2003. Compared to hardline Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar is seen as a moderate among the separatists.