Srinagar: PDP patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed said India can emerge as a superpower only if the country's Central leadership takes tangible steps to resolve issues with Pakistan, including the Kashmir issue.
"India can attain the position of superpower only if it improves ties with Pakistan by resolving all the unsettled issues, including the issue of Jammu and Kashmir," Sayeed said while addressing election rallies in south Kashmir to garner support for the PDP candidates.
The former chief minister said Kashmir issue has jeopardised not only political stability in the region, but is hampering progress on economic fronts including enhanced regional cooperation for trade and commerce.
"If India and Pakistan resolve the issue amicably, it will lead to a momentous turnaround in the region's geopolitical situation," he said on Monday.
Sayeed said the PDP would act as a fortress to defend the distinct identity of Jammu and Kashmir and won't allow anybody to dilute its special status.
He said the people of the state now look up to PDP with great hope and expectation for bringing not only peace and stability but safeguarding its politico-economic interests as well.
"I am today seeking votes not just to form the new government, but to win in the crusade for restoring Jammu and Kashmir to its rightful place," he said.
Expressing satisfaction at the steady growth of PDP, as a platform for change, Sayeed said the credit goes to the disciplined, dedicated and ideologically motivated cadres of the party and people living in all the regions of the state.
"It is because of the uphill struggle of our cadres and the growing public support for our agenda that PDP has emerged as a respectable and formidable voice channelising aspirations of the people across regions, religions and communities," he said.
Sayeed said the agenda of PDP could respond to the complex problems of the state, including decades' long political uncertainty, development deficit, unfulfilled aspirations, mounting unemployment, corruption, nepotism and favouritism.
"I hope that people would judge my party on the basis of its performance during our brief stint in the government, in opposition and on the basis of the agenda of change that we placed before them," he said.
