Benazir's assassination a terrible disaster for south Asia: Mufti

Srinagar, Dec 27 (UNI) Strongly condemning the gory assassination of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairperson Benazir Bhutto, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed has said the terrible disaster has struck the peace-loving people of the whole South Asian region.

In a statement here this evening, the Mr Sayeed said the heinous murder of Ms Bhutto has not only added another tragic victim to the Bhutto family, but has left the whole world in general and the people of the sub-continent in particular in great shock and agony.

''It is a shattering moment of great loss and mourning for the people of the region,'' he said.

Mr Sayeed said the time has come for all the right-thinking people in the region to take a fresh stock of the situation and work together for uprooting the scourge of violence and senseless blood-letting from the region.

He said the people of India must reach out to their brethren in Pakistan in this moment of grief to strengthen the forces of peace in the region.

He said since it came into being, Pakistan is, for the first time facing an existential threat from within, and India must respond to the emerging situation by making offering greater cooperation to strengthen the forces of peace in that country.

''With Afghanistan already on the boil, destabilisation and worsening of the security situation in Pakistan would only breed new alarming dangers in the region,'' Mr Sayeed said and added that a discreet approach to the situation by New Delhi would not only signal India's positive support for Pakistan's territorial integrity but would also send to the people and the nation of Pakistan a message of goodwill.

The PDP Patron said the people of Jammu and Kashmir have the greatest stakes in peace as they have underwent the worst trauma of violence for the past more than a decade now, losing almost an entire generation of youth.

''We have suffered immensely because of the violence and know very well its dangers,'' Mr Sayeed said.

He said the tragedy that has befallen Pakistan could prove a defining moment for transforming the region's security situation.

Expressing solidarity with the people of Pakistan in this moment of grief, Mr Sayeed said working together for peace with the neighbouring countries is the only appropriate response to the grim situation prevailing in the region.

He said the forces of peace shall sustain this onslaught only if they work together to save the humanity from the curse of violence.

UNI