Dialogue only way forward on Kashmir, says Mehbooba
Jammu: Peoples Democratic Party President Mehbooba Mufti has stressed that there was no solution to the Jammu and Kashmir issue without talks, saying dialogue between India and Pakistan remains the only viable roadmap for peace.
According to Kashmir Media Service, addressing a gathering in Poonch, the PDP chief said her father, late Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, always maintained that “no matter what the BJP does, it would ultimately have to come to the negotiating table.”
Taking a dig at the ruling party, Mehbooba said, “Cross-LoC trade and travel initiatives were launched during the PDP-Congress government to boost economic activity and reduce violence. “We opened the Rawalakot route because we wanted trade and business to flourish. Goods would go from here, and money would come from there instead of guns. But even that route was shut,” she said.
The PDP chief claimed that people of Pir Panjal and Chenab Valley suffered the most after the 2019 constitutional changes, and accused New Delhi of ignoring demands for a separate administrative division and hill district status for Mendhar. She also raised concerns over unemployment, inflation and discrimination against poor and tribal communities, including Gujjars and Bakerwals.
Mehbooba urged youth to stay away from drugs and contest upcoming panchayat elections. She further claimed that “for the last three months, secret talks with Pakistan have been going on quietly behind the scenes,” adding that retired diplomats, retired generals, and others go to foreign countries and sit with Pakistanis for discussions despite the public rhetoric against dialogue.
