Mufti urges militants to help in peace process

Pahalgam, May 5: Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed has once again urged the militants to acknowledge the change in the ground situation besides the mindset of the people and asked them to lend a helping hand in the ongoing peace process.

He also described the opening of the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road for trade and the Poonch-Rawalakot route as yet another milestone in Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) besides reviving the people-to- people contact on both sides of the Line of Control (LoC).

Addressing a series of public meetings in Pahalgam, Mr Sayeed appealed to the militants to acknowledge the changes taking place at the ground level in the state.

He said the militant organisations and the separatist parties should acknowledge and take note of the changing situation by responding positively to it.

They (militants and separatists) should understand that the people of the state want to see a resolution of the Kashmir problem through negotiations and a democratic process, he added.

The former Chief Minister asked the militants to give a helping hand in the ongoing dialogue and reconciliation process aimed at finding an amicable and lasting solution to the vexed Kashmir issue besides restoring peace in the strife-torn state.

Mr Sayeed, who is also the chief patron of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), said the resumption of trade on the Jehlum Valley road would help boost the socio-economic profile of the people and the state as well.

About the recent meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the Hurriyat leaders, he said, ''it heralds a good beginning for the peace process.'' Mr Sayeed expressed the hope that the Hurriyat leaders would participate in the second round-table conference on Kashmir here on May 25 and present their suggestions and viewpoint for finding a dignified and peaceful resolution of the Kashmir problem.

UNI