Kashmiris longing for lasting solution: JKLF Leader

Bangalore, May 25 (UNI) Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front Leader Yasin Malik today reiterated that a lasting solution to the Kashmir issue could be found only if locals were involved in the talks.

Speaking at an interative session on ''Towards a resolution of the Kashmir dispute,'' organised by Pakistan-India Peoples' Forum for Peace and Democracy (PIPFPD) here, he said both the Indian and Pakistani governments should take stock of the situation by involving the real players--the Kashmiri people--in the talks.

''I told Prime Minister Manmohan Singh recently that all people in Kashmir, including the militants, should be involved in the peace process and the talks. You need to involve the militant outfits so that a peaceful atmosphere can be created,'' he explained.

Citing the Naga movement, he said it was the oldest insurgent outfit in the country and till date not a single insurgent or army jawan had been killed. But scores of people, both armymen and civilians, continue to die in Kashmir. ''This is because the Kashmiri people are being sidelined by both the governments. Both India and Pakistan have failed to instill a sense of security in the minds of people. Unless a peaceful atmosphere prevails, neither talks nor Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) will work,'' he added.

Stating that only a flexible solution could bring lasting peace, Mr Malik said the people of Kashmir really liked the CBMs initiated by the Indian government which had come like oxygen to the people of the strife-torn state.

''We have to find a flexible solution that is acceptable to all the three parties - the Kashmiri people and the two governments. To achieve this, a genuine peace process acceptable to all has to be initiated. This will not only bring lasting peace in J-K, but also entire South-east Asia,'' he added.

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