New Delhi: July 29, 2010. (PCP) Mr. Navaid Hamid, Secretary, South Asian Council for Minorities (SACM) & Member, National Integration Council, Syed Shahabuddin, President, All India Muslim Majlis e Mushawarat, Mohammad Jafar, Vice President, Jamaat e Islami Hind, Dr Manzoor Alam, General Secretary, All India Milli Council, Dr Zafarul-Islam Khan, Editor, Milli Gazette, New Delhi and Niyaz Farooqui, Secretary, Jamiat Ulama-i Hind in a joint statement have appealed for calm in Kashmir valley. Muslim leaders said “With the ongoing agitation against the atrocities of the security forces and the killings of the innocent youths in the Valley, the biggest victim is the student community in the Valley” Already around 100 days of the academic year have been lost and there is no hope of the revival of the academic session in the near future. The closure of educational institutions is not going to help in the redressal of the the grievances of the Kashmiri fraternity. The country had always appreciated the educational environment of the Valley and the zeal of its youth to excel in academic fields and most recently Kashmir has made a distinctive impression with sending a topper to the Indian Administrative Services. The Kashmiri youths have always been at the forefront to excel in the medical streams and some of the brilliant doctors belongs from the valley of J&K. It had been possible only because of the continuous desire of the Kashmir's youths to concentrate on academic excellence. “We appeal to the agitationists of Kashmir Valley to allow reopening of the educational institutions so that the academic session of the students is not lost because of the agitation. There can be other ways to agitate and demand for redressing the grievances but to cause the indefinite closure of the educational institutions cannot be appreciated and will not be in the long-term interests of the students, therefore the educational institutions need to be allowed to function properly” leaders urged We also appeal to the Central and state governments to enhance the compensation to Rs. five lakh plus government job to a family member of those killed in security forces firings or to Rs. ten lakh to those families which do not have any grown up member to take up a government job.