Act with caution, do not derail peace process: Mufti

Srinagar, July 17 (UNI) Following the Mumbai blasts, former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed today said Indian and Pakistan should act with great caution and not allow the peace process to get derailed.

Mr Sayeed said the present situation, although presenting a dismal scenario, calls for bold measures by both the countries to put their act together with determination and slowly but steadily get back on the path of peace and reconciliation to identify and isolate the disruptive elements.

Espousing the concern of the common people, who are directly affected by any development on the Indo-Pak front, Mr Sayeed said the people of the sub-continent in general, and that of Jammu and Kashmir in particular, are extremely worried over the developments that followed the Mumbai blasts, casting a shadow of despair on the peace process.

Mr Sayeed, the patron of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), a partner in the coalition government in the state, said respecting people's overwhelming urge for reconciliation and harmony, India and Pakistan should act with great caution and not allow the peace process to get derailed.

At the same time, he paid rich tributes to the people of the country, especially the people of Mumbai and Maharashtra for showing unity and maintaining calm during trying times.

In a statement here, Mr Sayeed said people in large numbers from across the state have been calling on him to express their worries over the events unfolding in the sub-continent in the aftermath of the Mumbai blasts.

''While the massacre of innocents in the Mumbai blasts calls for appropriate action against the perpetrators, at the same time any knee-jerk reaction to this reprehensible act in the larger context of Indo-Pak relations would offer an opportunity to the negative elements, who see the peace process as a threat to their vested interests,'' he added.

Mr Sayeed said at this crucial juncture, the leadership of both the countries must exhibit maturity and political sagacity and not allow the situation to be hijacked by hawkish elements.

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