Srinagar, Apr 08: Strongly pitching for Indo-Pak dialogue, National Conference president Farooq Abdullah Sunday said internal autonomy to Jammu and Kashmir within the framework of Indian Constitution and conversion of Line of Control into Line of Peace was a pragmatic way forward to herald peace in the region.
“India and Pakistan should resume the dialogue process and engage people of Jammu and Kashmir in an acceptable solution,” Farooq said while addressing workers at Balakote, Mendhar, adding that sagacity lies in acknowledging the realities and shedding the baggage of the past.
He reverted to the Indo-Pak hostilities in 90s and said Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee had invited President Parvez Musharraf despite Kargil incursion and his political wisdom worked in terms of ceasefire agreement which brought cheer in the lives of border people for a pretty long time.
“Why can’t Vajpayee spirit be emulated by his political inheritors,” he said and cautioned against extreme positions that could lead to devastation and destruction in the entire region.
Farooq said the people of Jammu and Kashmir had decided their future in 1947 by acceding to Mahatma Gandhi’s secular India and they will fight all machinations of reversing these well-established credentials by polarizing forces.
He said India is not a religious specific but country of all, irrespective of religion, region and caste. This legacy cannot be trampled by fringe elements, currently holding the centre-stage in Indian politics, as majority of Hindus disapprove politics of polarization and division.
Without naming BJP, he said the current spell of governance in New Delhi has created chaos all over, with people feeling their identities threatened and thus taking to streets.
In this context, he referred to current unrest over the dilution of SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and said the minorities too were feeling unsafe due to reactionary politics.
Farooq expressed grave concern over dicey political situation across the country, saying he would keep his fingers crossed about things to happen in case the present arrangement is repeated in New Delhi in 2019. He said India can’t flourish with myopic political vision. “It has been a forward looking country, which has to move forward as a strong, stable and a united nation,” he added.
The NC chief cautioned people against the divisive politics, saying that attempts are being made to create wedge in the society on the basis of region and religion.
“All this is being done with a sinister motive of fragmenting Jammu and Kashmir into three different regions”, he said and warned those nurturing this nightmarish dream, saying National Conference would fight these designs tooth and nail.
He said Jammu and Kashmir has been, is and will remain a single entity and no power on the earth can disintegrate it. He asked the people to be united, which he termed as the forceful weapon to fight elements inimical to J&K’s single entity character.
General Secretary Ali Mohammed Sagar exhorted the cadre to be prepared for meeting challenges facing to the state, adding that National Conference will stand like a rock against those trampling its glorious ethos.
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