Kashmir issue root cause of terrorism in South Asia: Lodhi

London, July 21 (ANI): A former Pakistani diplomat has described the decades old Kashmir issue as the root cause of terrorism in South Asia, adding that the recent violent protests in the Valley has exposed India's failure.

Speaking at an event organised by the Commonwealth Journalists Association (UK) at the House of Commons here, Pakistan's former envoy to Britain and the US, Maleeha Lodhi said that it was important to deal with the root cause of the Kashmir issue.

Holding New Delhi responsible for the breakdown of last week's talks between Indian External Affairs S M Krishna with his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi in Islamabad, Lodhi said India should look beyond its own paradigm.

She said that the attitude of India towards Pakistan was similar to the one that is adopted by Israel towards Palestine, where the mighty power always tries to arm-twist and dictate its own terms for dialogue.

"You cannot hold Pakistan hostage to your own demands and seek a favourable outcome," Lodhi said while referring to India's firm stand 26/11 terror attacks probe issue.

Lodhi also highlighted the three possible scenarios for the near term: a prolonged diplomatic deadlock with fruitless talks continuing but with realisation of the actual issues; a scenario of managed tensions where differences continue but are managed through diplomatic means; and the third being the most desirable scenario where both countries adopt a problem-solving approach to find a resolution of their disputes, The News reports.

Countering Lodhi's remarks over the Kashmir violence, noted Indian journalist M J Akbar said that the recent protests in the region were not because of any hatred against the country, as it was being presented.

"The Kashmiri youth are eager to join India in security services, they want to be a part of the entertainment industry and it was imperative they were accommodated," Akbar said. (ANI)