Respect and reciprocate Musharraf's proposals: Omar to India

Srinagar, Jan 10 (UNI) National Conference (NC) chief Omar Abdullah today urged India to respond positively to Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf's recent four-point proposal to resolve the Kashmir issue.

''Gen Musharraf has opened new avenues for resolution of the vexed Kashmir issue...India should respect and reciprocate the flexibility shown by him,'' he said here.

Mr Abdullah said it was for the first time that any Pakistani leader had shown ''flexibility to this extent''.

''India should not let the opportunity go waste and take immediate steps to remove all the impediments in the ongoing peace and dialogue process...This is the need of the hour,'' he added.

Mr Abdullah said by appreciating the NC's stand on the Kashmir issue, Gen Musharraf has honoured the wishes and aspirations of the people of the state.

The NC president lavished praise on his father and former Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah, describing him a visionary.

He said Dr Abdullah was the first politician who openly opposed the role of gun in the Kashmir resolution.

''Now even Pakistan has made a u-turn on its 58-year-old stand on Kashmir. It is now saying the same thing what my father had stated in 1989 when militancy erupted in Kashmir,'' Mr Abdullah said.

He said the contentious Kashmir issue and its resolution should not be treated as a matter of ''prestige'' by anybody.

Mr Abdullah said there was an urgent need to take measures, which would provide relief to the people.

Both Dr Abdullah and his son had recently met External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, ahead of his Pakistan visit.

At the meeting with Mr Mukherjee, the NC president said they stressed for opening of more routes along the Line of Control, simplifying travel procedure and starting of trade between Jammu and Kashmir and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

UNI