Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Oct 18: National Conference president and former Chief Minister Dr Farooq Abdullah said today that this is for the first time when the “fight” (a reference to Kashmir unrest) has reached the villages and called upon New Delhi to immediately go for talks with the stakeholders to resolve the issues.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of public meeting at border district of Rajouri, Farooq Abdullah wondered: “what the PDP-BJP Government is doing. The schools are closed for so many days. Kashmir had never witnessed such disturbances that you can’t even walks on the roads”?
He said the people are protesting in the villages and this is for the first time when this “fight” has reached the rural areas.
“Today, there is no village, where the people are not protesting. It’s time for New Delhi to awake, hold talks with the people and resolve the issue. If New Delhi thinks that it can solve the problem by using forces and arresting people, they are wrong,” the National Conference president said.
Recalling the statement of former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee that you can change friends but not the neighbours, Farooq said: “we have to live with Pakistan either as friend and develop the country or as enemy in which their economy would collapse and ours will slow down”.
Wondering how long India and Pakistan will remain in a state of “animosity” and “hostility”, Dr Abdullah underlined the need for peace as the people of Jammu and Kashmir are the primary victims of confrontation between the two countries.
“How long shall we remain in the state of animosity and hostility? There is no substitute to peace, and both India and Pakistan understand that wars cannot solve political issues,” he said while addressing a public meeting in the border district of Rajouri.
“Political issues have to be resolved amicably and through a meaningful and credible political process,” added the former Chief Minister of the State.
He recalled the peace dividends of the border ceasefire agreement between India and Pakistan during the tenure of former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and said he saw no reason why that experiment and spirit cannot be implemented now.
Abdullah referred to the sufferings caused to border dwellers due to dislocation from their homes because of shelling and cross-LoC firing, saying “tragically this has become a routine” since the past few years.
“The dislocation brings with it the trauma of deprivation and disempowerment, as farmers cannot harvest their crops, economic activity gets paralyzed, and a fear psychosis engulfs everyone while children are deprived of their dreams,” he said.
Abdullah appealed for strengthening the legacy of amity and tranquility in the State.
Without naming any political entity, he cautioned people against nefarious attempts to divide people on the basis of region and religion.
“Jammu and Kashmir has been, is and will continue to remain a single entity,” he said and called upon the party cadre to work with dedication and commitment to meet various challenges that the State is confronted with.
“On the bedrock of our legacy, it is our duty to promote amity and brotherhood, which the party has upheld and nurtured during the most trying circumstances in our history. Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Buddhist and Christian unity has been at the core of the National Conference’s political philosophy and this has to be maintained at all costs,” he said.
National Conference general secretary Ali Mohammad Sagar, Additional general secretary Sheikh Mustafa Kamal and party provincial president Devender Singh Rana are accompanying Dr Farooq Abdullah on his tour to twin border districts of Rajouri and Poonch apart from other senior functionaries.
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