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| 'J&K-specific CBMs not moving at desired pace' | | Positive economic changes must be facilitated across Kashmir: Mehbooba | |
Colombo (Sri Lanka), July 22 –
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) President, Ms Mehbooba Mufti has stressed the need for putting into action some tangible confidence building measures in Jammu & Kashmir that would adequately match the fast-changing ground situation and the public mood. "The fast-changing equations in the State and the sub-continent necessitate the urgency of some firm intermediary political and economic measures that would positively impact the situation and pave the wave for the ultimate peaceful settlement of the Kashmir issue," she said.
Speaking at the inaugural session of the two-day Pugwash Conference on Kashmir here today, Mehbooba said implementation of the recommendations of the Working Groups on Kashmir could mark the beginning of the confidence building process with far-reaching positive impact on the overall situation in the State. "As the Working Groups have covered almost all the aspects of problem including intra and inter-state dimensions, implementation of their recommendations will have great impact, not only on the people's mindset in the region but the overall situation as well," she said and added India and Pakistan must agree on and implement a set of programs that would bring about positive economic changes in both parts of Kashmir from which there can't be any turning back.
Ms Mufti said the phenomenal decline in the levels of violence and strong public aversion towards senseless bloodshed, must be proportionately responded to with measured, responsive and responsible reduction of troops and revocation of the laws that were implemented in unusual circumstances in the early stages of turmoil. "As those extraordinary circumstances are no more there and the people have started reposing their faith in the democratic processes and institutions, there is no logic in maintaining the level of troops in civilian areas at the nineties level," she said and added that it has been the consistent view of PDP that the presence of troops among the civilians and the continuation of laws like the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) are now proving counter-productive.
Expressing dismay over the sluggish implementation of the cross-LoC confidence building measures including movement of people and goods, Ms Mufti said the lack of political will to push-ahead these initiatives has rendered the whole process incredulous. "Unfortunately, the people of the State have now started becoming skeptical of these initiatives as even after being in operation for four years, these initiatives have remained just symbolic given the hassles involved in the cross-LoC movement of people," she said and added that the cross-LoC movement of people has to be made hassle free to give further impetus to the confidence building process. She also stressed the need for resuming trade through various cross-LoC and cross-border routes without any further delay.
Emphasizing that political and economic stability of both parts of Kashmir could lay the foundation for the amicable settlement of this long-pending issue, Ms Mufti said the dream of a making SAARC a free trade region could be realized only if the experiment takes off in Jammu & Kashmir, an area of contention that has adversely hampered the region's growth. "Jammu & Kashmir should get physically, emotionally, socially and economically connected to the region to liberate its people from the mentality of siege and they must reap the benefits of globalization and economic liberalization sweeping the world," she said.
Making it clear that a workable solution to the Kashmir imbroglio could be realized only through a process that creates people's stakes in peace, Ms Mufti said once the social and economic aspects of the problem get resolved on both sides, the political aspect would be much easier to handle and resolve. "India and Pakistan will have to agree on and implement a set of programs that would bring about positive economic changes in both parts of Kashmir from which there can't be any turning back," she said and added that the vested interest created in such economic programs would resist any retrenchment from continued progress
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