Srinagar: Former Union minister and chief of J&K’s main opposition National Conference (NC), Dr. Farooq Abdullah, on Monday strongly pitched for making the Line of Control (LoC) a ‘line of peace’.
He said both parts of Kashmir should be granted autonomy as this was the “only viable and realistic solution to nearly seven decade problem that has cast dark shadows over the generations’.
Mr. Abdullah while speaking at a series of party rallies in the twin border districts of Poonch and Rajouri asserted, “We owe peace and dignified life to posterity and that can be achieved only by converting the present dividing line between the two neighbouring countries into line of peace”.
He added that the hostilities of past nearly seventy years have retarded growth of people on both sides of the de factor border and that time has come when India and Pakistan should take a bold initiative by calling a spade a spade.
He referred to the two of the three wars India and Pakistan fought on Kashmir, the mini war in Kargil and unabated occasional border skirmishes and said these have only added to the miseries of people of Kashmir, who have faced major brunt of turmoil during the past over two and half decades.
“The soft borders would open up vistas of economic opportunities besides enabling hassle free exchange of people, which in turn will be a major dividend to peace and tranquillity in the region”, he said, hoping that good sense will prevail upon all the stake holders. He added that denial of autonomy has brought Jammu and Kashmir to present morass, which if ignored anymore can prove detrimental to larger interests of the State. In this context, he referred to the resolution passed by the State Assembly over a decade and half ago, saying that was reflective of the urges and aspirations of the regions and sub-regions of the State.
He also spoke on the fallout of what he alleged are divisive policies being pursued by the present dispensation at the Centre and asserted that politics of hate and intolerance is against the very idea of India. He said India was an abode of people belonging to different faiths and they cannot be brought eye-ball to eye-ball situation for petty politics and furthering any definite political agenda.
