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| Sagar sends dialogue reminder to PM | | | Early Times Report
Jammu, Jan 26: First time after taking over the reins, the state government, particularly its major partner National Conference, today called upon the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to resume the sagging peace process at both levels –between New Delhi and Kashmir and as also between New Delhi and Islamabad.
Rural Development Minister Ali Mohammed Sagar in his Republic Day speech in the summer capital Srinagar made a passionate appeal to the prime minister to resume the peace negotiations with Islamabad, snapped in the wake of the Nov 26 Mumbai terror attacks that India blamed on elements from Pakistan.
"The process of peace and reconciliation between India and Pakistan has a direct bearing on the lives of the people in Jammu and Kashmir," Sagar said after he unfurled the national flag and took salute at the parade in Bakhshi Stadium.
"We appeal to the prime minister to restart the peace process between the two countries so that distances between them are narrowed down."
In the Kashmir Valley, the main parade was held at the heavily guarded Bakshi Stadium in Srinagar, where Sagar said the December assembly elections in the state had been appreciated by everybody in the world and even the militants had started talking in terms of negotiated resolution of their problems. "This is a big change as everybody is fed up with violence."
At the Srinagar stadium, school children and contingents of the police and paramilitary forces marched braving the winter chill. Students dressed in their colourful best presented cultural programmes.
National Conference president and former chief minister Farooq Abdullah was among the dignitaries present at the function. He joined the dancers for a while.
The event was held under tight security, with equipment meant to jam electronic devices installed in a bid to prevent remote controlled explosions.
Officials said the gathering at the Bakhshi Stadium was unprecedented. Ever since militancy erupted in 1990, people began staying away from Republic Day and Independence Day functions.
The two factions of the separatist Hurriyat Conference led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Syed Ali Geelani had called for protest shutdown Monday.
Republic Day functions in other towns of the state also took place peacefully.
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