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| Reduce trust defecit to resolve vexed Kashmir issue: Mehbooba | | ‘Peace in J&K is more than by-product of good Indo-Pak relations’ | | EARLY TIMES REPORT
Srinagar, Dec 3: People’s Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti Saturday said that reducing trust deficit between Kashmiris and rest of India can be an important step towards settling the vexed issue of Jammu and Kashmir.
“If we were to base our Kashmir policy on the ideological values of democracy, rule of law and tolerance, which have been the defining strength of India, we will expand the constituency of peace at the micro level of individuals as well as institutions.” Mehbooba said while speaking at Hindustan Times Leadership Summit on “Settling Disputes for a Common Cause” in New Delhi.
“In the specific context of J&K, what such a change in the mindset means is first, accepting and acknowledging that there is a problem and not subsuming it under the larger rubric of India-Pakistan relations. It needs to be understood that peace in J&K is more than a mere by-product of good India-Pakistan relations, just like, the ongoing civil strife in J&K is not a consequence of strained Indo-Pak ties. It is a fact that the resolution of Kashmir Issue can be a big booster and catalyst for better India-Pakistan relations, as good Indo Pak relations can have a positive impact on J&K,” she said.
The peace process in sub-continental, she said, has to walk on two legs. “The issue of resolution of Kashmir is one leg and normalization of India-Pakistan relations as the other. There can be no forward movement unless both legs move with the same pace and in the same direction,” Mehbooba asserted.
The PDP president demanded that J&K state must be empowered enough to initiate, catalyze and drive the peace process. “From being a passive recipient of bilateral initiatives, the state has to take centre-stage and drive the peace process,” she added.
“Immediately after 2002 elections the state government took some steps and the union government endorsed it resulting in local stakes in peace process growing manifold. It generated consensus among principal stake holders the people of J&K on the resolution Kashmir issue.
She claimed the overall atmosphere during that period was that of relaxation and reconciliation. “Kashmir had started radiating peace rather than war cries across the borders. Sadly it was let slip away in the absence of continued efforts. These initiatives have now become events and markers and not the processes that could have catalyzed and held up the sub-continental peace process on a sustainable basis,” she added.
“A network of existing and new roads connecting the two countries through J&K would not only open up some of the most spectacular parts of the world to tourism, but also contribute significantly to the economic fortunes of the state and the region. The state’s natural resources, including water, can instead of being a bone of contention used as a bonding agent in soldering economic cooperation in the region,” she added.
Mehbooba said that J&K has a special position in the Indian Constitution. “We deserve a special place in the hearts and minds of the entire region. Amidst the prevailing winds of globalization and regional economic integration, the political leadership has the luxury of conceiving a distinctive grand strategy for the country and the region in Jammu and Kashmir. The strategy has to start with addressing the trust deficit between the two sides, It will make our country more at peace, not only with its neighbors, but also with itself,” she said.
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