NC exploiting people with its duplicity: Baig
Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, July 5: Calling for display of statesmanship in Indo-Pak relationship, People’s Democratic Party (PDP) patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed today said that Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh should intervene to prevent a diplomatic slide that could reverse the peace process built with tremendous effort.
Addressing a public meeting at Beerwa in Budgam district here today, he cautioned that the decade long peace effort could derail in the absence of a political direction to the discourse that was dangerously poised once again to fall into narrow security narrative.
Mufti said that relations between India and Pakistan had shown a steady improvement ever since the visit of Atal Behari Vajpayee to Kashmir from where he had responded to the yearning for peace he observed among the people here and set a new agenda of friendship. The UPA too strengthened this effort through path breaking initiatives like the opening of cross LoC routes for trade and travel during its first stint. But unfortunately the process seems once again to be following the familiar pre 2003 downward direction with incidents holding the process hostage, he said.
“Unless this trend is arrested by a bold political intervention South Asia could once again be heading for a crisis with Jammu and Kashmir having to face its most disastrous consequences”, he added stressing “we have a direct stake in peace”. He, however, expressed hope that the Foreign Secretaries conference in New Delhi would achieve more positive results than the recent Home Secretaries conference in implementing J&K specific CBMs decided by the Foreign Ministers last year to expand the trade and travel facilities across the LoC.
He said the situation in J&K demands that the national leadership rises above narrow considerations and carries forward the process that has been endorsed by a large peace constituency both in India and Pakistan. He said no one could deny complexities of Kashmir problem but the solution lies in recognizing them and moving forward on areas of possibilities that have by and large been identified. Unless that is done the state will continue to suffer and also pose a challenge to larger politico economic scenario in the region, Mufti said.
Explaining various aspects of the political vision of PDP, senior leader and former Deputy Chief Minister Muzaffar Hussein Baig told the meeting it aimed at modernization of the State along with dignified resolution of its political problems. He said given the rich resources of the State there was no reason why it should not develop into a model for other states.
Baig said it was a pleasant development that the people particularly youth of the state had started getting impressed with the PDP agenda and aligning with it. “Self rule is a document of hope and it is natural that the youth who have been the worst victims of conflict strike an easy bond with our agenda” , he said.
He further said it was unfortunate that the National Conference after having created a wedge between the state and rest of the country had itself struck bonds of friendship with whosoever ruled Delhi but used brutal methods to crush opposition to it at home. Youth were the worst victims of this duplicity and many generations of Kashmiris had suffered as a result, with NC itself enjoying power and luxuries, he said.
He said that development works under the state and central sectors are victims of Government lethargy, corruption and favoritism. Whatever works are taken up are driven by contractors close to Government and some Ministers, he added.
Follow our WhatsApp channel