While speaking in Jamia Masjid, Valley's chief cleric Mirwaiz Umar Farooq stressed the need for compassion in the pursuit of peace (File)

Valley’s chief cleric Mirwaiz Umar Farooq on Friday stressed the need for compassion in the pursuit of peace as he referred to the recently released International Crisis Group report on Jammu and Kashmir while addressing the Friday congregation at Srinagar’s Jamia Masjid.

Highlighting aspects of the report by the Belgium-based non-profit, Mirwaiz said, “The report says that militancy, street protests and violence have declined in recent years, which everyone welcomes, as no one understands the value of peace more than the people of Kashmir, who have suffered enormously over the past several decades.”

Underscoring that findings of the report deserve attention, Mirwaiz stated that it makes a critical point, which is that the reduction in violence “does not necessarily mean that underlying political grievances have been resolved, or that public confidence has been…