Farooq calls for Indo-Pak dialogue to resolve Kashmir problem

Srinagar, Sep 9: Opposition National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah today called for a dialogue between India and Pakistan to resolve the Kashmir issue and asked the central and the state governments not to repeat the mistake of using force to deal with the current unrest in the Valley.

The Centre and the state government are repeatedly making the mistake of trying to address the situation through force. The Centre should initiate dialogue with the concerned parties without wasting any time further, Abdullah said while interacting with party leaders at his residence here.

Abdullah said the key to everlasting peace in Jammu and Kashmir was in the resolution of Kashmir issue in accordance with the wishes, aspirations and sentiments of the people.

The need of the hour is that India and Pakistan should sit together along with the people of Kashmir and work out an acceptable solution to the issue.

Kashmir is a political issue and only its political resolution can lead to peace in the region, he said. Expressing concern over the tense situation in the Valley, Abdullah said the basic reason for the present unrest was the non-resolution of Kashmir issue.

He said the people were going thorough very difficult times and facing worst kind of problems and oppression. The killings and injuries to the people in the past two months are the worst kind of human rights violations which have no place in the present scenario, he said.

Abdullah accused the Centre of widening the trust-deficit between the people of Kashmir and New Delhi by repeatedly hurting the sentiments of Kashmiris. Whether in Opposition or in power, NC has always advocated for the political solution to the issue and in this regard, passed an autonomy resolution with two-third majority in the assembly and simultaneously took a stand that if there is any better solution than autonomy acceptable to all the three regions, the party will accept it, he said.

Unfortunately, the Centre has time and again hurt the sentiments and the aspirations of the people through different means which resulted in trust deficit (between the people and the Centre) and the prevailing situation points to it, he added.

PTI