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| Congress must take lead to resolve Kashmir issue: Sayeed | | |
Ganderbal, April 19
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Patron, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed today said the Congress-led UPA Government must take the lead in resolving the Kashmir issue as, not only the people of Jammu and Kashmir, but that of the whole country want the issue to be settled as soon as possible. "It would be in the interest of the country in general and the Congress party in particular to seize the historic opportunity and amicably settle the issue, to the satisfaction of all the concerned parties," he said.
Addressing an impressive public meeting here this morning, Sayeed emphasized that the region's stability could be only ensured through political and economic stability in Jammu and Kashmir. ""Fortunately, there is growing recognition within the region that pursuing the same old Kashmir policies is doing more harm than good," he said and added that the public opinion in both the countries appears to be growing to stop these punishing practices, and to pursue creative thinking in search of a settlement.
The PDP Patron said while the former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee declared his willingness to move off the beaten path in search of a settlement, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has talked about his dream of building a new, peaceful Kashmir. "Even the Pakistani President Parvez Musharraf has repeatedly expressed his interest in new thinking and his readiness to be flexible regarding a resolution of the Kashmir issue," he said and added that the important question now is how different players should respond to this new situation, ripe for some major initiatives for peaceful resolution of the issue. In this paradigm, he said the Congress leadership could play a crucial role if it confronts the challenge with bold and decisive initiatives, to open up a new window of opportunity for the region's peace and prosperity.
Sayeed said the upcoming 3rd RTC could offer the best platform for initiating practical steps towards the resolution of the issue as the recommendations of the four Working Groups, finalized after intensive deliberations, could lay the foundations for the ultimate solution. He, however, said every effort should be made to incorporate the view-point of the separatists as well, to make the dialogue and resolution process more broad-based. "I hope the Round Table Conference will be result-oriented and the recommendations finalized by the four Working Groups would be implemented in letter and spirit to consolidate the resolution process," he said and added that once there is tangible movement forward in the resolution process, the separatists would also realize the importance of participating in such deliberations.
Jammu and Kashmir, Sayeed said could no longer afford to remain aloof from the path-breaking developments shaping up in the region. He said these exciting developments, along with reopening of our traditional cross-border routes, extension of rail link up to Baramulla and construction of an International Airport at Srinagar would restore the State's preeminence in the regional trade.
Senior PDP leaders, Qazi Mohammad Afzal, Nizam-ud-Din Bhat and Basharat Bukhari also addressed the meeting.
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