Mufti urges PM to curb HR violations in J

Srinagar, June 18 (UNI) Former Jammu and Kashmir Mufti Mohammad Sayeed today said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's pledge regarding zero tolerance for human rights abuses in the state should fast translate at the ground to build and consolidate the people's trust and faith in the system.

In a statement here, he said as a fundamental input to the peace process, the Prime Minister's commitment need to be followed up with action and a practical policy.

Mr Sayeed, who is also the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) patron, urged Dr Singh to ensure that his assurance to curb human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir was strictly adhered to and nobody allowed to go against this commitment.

The recent unfortunate incidents seem to have vitiated the atmosphere, he said and called for urgent measures to address the people's concerns to prevent reversal of gains of the peace process.

Mr Sayeed said to protest and stage peaceful demonstrations were a democratic right of the people which need to be respected.

''In our effort at nation building, it is important that we should carry along our people,'' he added.

Stressing the need for carrying along people of the state to make the ongoing peace process meaningful and result-oriented, he said the people of Jammu and Kashmir were the biggest custodians of its interests and those of the country.

''That fact has to be recognised to completely end the atmosphere of armed confrontation with trust so that the dependence on the security forces is gradually reduced,'' Mr Sayeed added.

He said greater trust in the people was inevitable for protection of the interests of the state and the country.

The former Chief Minister said the people of Jammu and Kashmir have always responded positively to the initiatives of the state government in improving the security situation and providing relief to a common man. This had in fact been a fundamental input in changing the scenario since 2002, he added.

Strongly disapproving the BJP's hawkish stance towards the peace process, Mr Sayeed said it was in fact the NDA government that started the dialogue process with Pakistan as a path-breaking initiative and approached the problems in a pragmatic way.

''Instead of trying to draw petty political mileage by hardening its stance, the BJP must lend a helping hand in expanding the dialogue process in its scope and strengthening its content in the larger national interest,'' he added.

The PDP leader said the strength of the present peace process was that two successive Prime Ministers Atal Behari Vajpayee and Dr Manmohan Singh had led this personally and created a consensus for peace in the sub-continent.

Cautioning the hardliners against undermining the peace process, he said it was vital for progress and economic prosperity of the region. Mr Sayeed said steps should be taken to galvanise secular and democratic forces on either side of the Line of Control (LoC) to speed up the peace process and reap its benefits.

Expressing dismay over the recent hardening of stances by India and Pakistan, the former Chief Minister said regrettably the warm bonhomie that had characterised the attitude of the two countries in recent years appears to have been marred by some hawkish utterances.

He called upon the leadership of both the countries to counter the threats that could derail the peace process and concentrate on stabilising it through meaningful confidence building measures.

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