Srinagar: National Conference President and Member of Parliament Dr. Farooq Abdullah on Sunday asked both India and Pakistan to be consistent, coherent and serious in their nascent engagement and ensure people of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh live a life free from unending miseries.
Dr. Farooq said this while addressing party functionaries at two separate meetings at Laamad and Devsar, Kulgam. Emphasizing that there is no substitute to dialogue, he said the moves and the messages indicating a thaw in relations between both the neighboring countries had has put brakes on the escalating tensions.
For the entire chest thumping, both the countries cannot win a war against each other, it is sooner both the neighboring countries realize the ground reality; the more serious, coherent and consistent, both the nations are in settling all outstanding areas of disagreements, the better, he said, it would be for the early return of lasting peace and stability to Jammu and Kashmir and the entire region.
Among others Party’s Senior Leaders, State Secretary Sakina Itoo, Peerzada Ghulam Ahmed Shah, MP Anantnag Hasnain Masoodi, South Zone President Dr. Bashir Ahmed Veeri; District President Kulgam Abdul Majeed Bhat Larmi, District Secretary Safdar Khan, Ishtiyaq Ganaie, Feroz Ahmed Shah, party’s parent body, YNC, district, and block functionaries were also present on the occasions.
Necessitating on the need of having result oriented dialogue between India and Pakistan, he said, “The dialogue process will benefit the people of Jammu and Kashmir the most. Both the nations I have maintained all along, have to live side by side. It is up to them, if they want to live as enemies or supportive friends and partners in development. Both countries can achieve much by joining hands in progress.”
Dr. Farooq further added that if the ties between both the nations are to improve than both the nations have to come out of their shells and narrow down the space of their differences and source of conflict between them to get together on the table to work towards an environment that recognizes the concept of JK’s historical individuality, uniqueness of its socio-political complexes and restoration of its political dignity and historical selfhood.
Emphasizing on NC’s support to the peace and camaraderie between the two neighbors, he said that the party has all along been a strong votary of Indo-Pak dialogue. “There is no substitute for dialogue. But the dialogue should result in JK centric CBMs including resumption of cross-LoC trade through a proper banking mechanism and doing away with the present barter system . Such JK centric CBMs will indeed help the two neighboring countries solve their disagreements amicably and in an objective manner for the greater good of the people of JK, Ladakh and the entire region,” he said.
He asked the workers to draw lessons from the worrying disadvantages of disunity impressing upon the workers to work towards strengthening the democracy and the party fortress. “The last person out there in Jammu, Kashmir, and Ladakh is looking up to us with sheer optimism that we will salvage the entire region from murderous manifestations of communalism, and regionalism and to catapult the people from the prevailing economic distress, and instability,” he said.
