PDP supports PM's prescription on Kashmir, demands start of peace

Srinagar, Oct 10 (UNI) Demanding that peace and reconciliation must start from Jammu and Kashmir, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) today said it strongly supports Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's prescription on the Kashmir issue.

''We support Dr Singh's prescription that we should confront the Kashmir issue with open mind and in good faith and try to find innovative and out of box solution instead of sticking to the hackneyed and worn-out slogans,'' a PDP press release issued this evening said.

However, it said ''peace and reconciliation must start from Jammu and Kashmir otherwise the effort will remain fake and meaningless.'' The PDP said,'' Kashmir should not be allowed to slide back into a whirlpool of violence simply for the inability to respond to the new situation of opportunity thrown up by the return of political movement here into a non violent mode.'' ''It would be in nobody's interest to delay a bold and imaginative response to the new scenario in the State,'' it said adding that ''internal frictions within the state would also dilute once a broad and visionary roadmap is devised and implemented which caters to the internal and external dimensions of the problem.'' The PDP said,'' the reiteration of peaceful approach by Kashmiris should be recognized as their strength and not misconstrued as their weakness as such perception has always led to severe distortions in our relationship with the federation.

Instead of trying to plough a lone furrow and introduce any individual formulations, PDP has always sought an internal inclusive dialogue at the State level with different sections of the society to reconcile various positions for the ultimate resolution of the problem.'' It said,'' being fully conscious of the shortcomings of the exclusive reliance on the intra-state solutions, PDP believes that in order to achieve a stable, sustainable and just solution of the issue of J&K, the intra-state measures (decentralization and power-sharing) have to be combined with inter-state (to address external dimensions) measures. This approach is the underlying concept of the PDP's self-rule proposal,'' the statement said.

''The opening of cross-Line of Control (LoC) routes for travel and trade between the two parts of the State is a step of unprecedented wisdom and courage that the two countries have displayed.

There is, however, a compelling need to make the cross-LoC movement of people and goods more comprehensive and meaningful and not keep it symbolic in nature,'' the statement added.

UNI BAS RP HT1948