Indian ex home Minister Welcomes offer to resume talks between India and Pakistan

 Bhim also welcomes resumption of Indo-Pak Talks

Jammu, February 5 (Scoop News) –Indian former home minister,ex Chief Minister and Peoples Democratic Party patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed has welcomed the proposed resumption of composite dialogue between India and Pakistan.

In a statement issued here today Mufti appreciated the realization by government of India of the need to reach out to Pakistan for resumption of the dialogue process stalled after 2008 Mumbai attack. He said this reflected an assertion by the forces of peace and reconciliation and augured well for the future of South Asia.

Mufti said the process of dialogue needed to be insulated against knee jerk reactions to events that generally are aimed at the sole aim of derailing it. By doing so the two countries would only be obliging the enemies of peace he said and added if dialogue could be held after Kargil and parliament House attack there was no reason for it having fallen victim to the unfortunate Mumbai interruption.

Asserting the centrality of Kashmir issue to the problems of the region Mufti said it was wrong to suggest that the problem was too complex or difficult to resolve. He said given a political will across the political spectrum in our country and Pakistan it could find a solution acceptable to an overwhelming majority of stake holders. Such a development he said could poise South Asia for a lead role in world affairs and unblock huge energies of its people for generating wealth and emancipation.

Mufti expressing his concern at the rising levels of alienation within the state said this needed to be addressed to provide an enabling atmosphere for Indo Pak diplomatic engagement to make progress. He said while onus for success of the peace process was essentially on the governments of India and Pakistan people of the state could not remain detached from it. The democratic, civilized and peaceful expression of our aspirations has to continue to make them reflect in the bilateral talks he added.

Mufti said it was important meanwhile to provide good governance to the people of the state to make their daily lives comfortable. The credibility deficit in our system could be allowed to grow only at the cost of the prospects of the larger effort to find a solution to the political problem. He said this fact needed to be recognised and worked on seriously in the context of the snowballing turmoil on the streets of Kashmir and the unleashing of state force to quell it without trying to address the reasons of anger among the youth. Experiences of recent past he said could be a guide in this for the present government if it wanted to arrest the drift.

Prof. Bhim Singh, Chairman, National Panthers Party also welcomed India’s initiative to resume Indo-Pak Talks which stood frozen since 26/11 Mumbai terrorists’ attack. The Panthers Party Chief congratulated the Prime Minister saying that it was rare gesture of India’s magnanimity to invite Pakistan for a dialogue for seeking enduring peace in the sub-continent.

Prof. Bhim Singh said that the leadership in Pakistan should understand that they cannot touch a single inch of Indian Territory in Jammu and Kashmir. As long as the 730 kms. long LoC dividing Jammu and Kashmir is not resolved there could be no peace. Prime Minister’s repeated declaration that the borders shall not be re-written has to be translated into a living reality.

Three resolutions to work out an equitable, acceptable and just solution addressing the aspirations of the people of all the three regions, Ladakh, Kashmir and Jammu has to be evolved through consensus on autonomy, self-rule and reorganization of the state on its linguistic, cultural and geographical identities. That can only be implemented once the only issue of LoC is settled finally with Pakistan.

Prof. Bhim Singh said that India lost a great opportunity to settle the status of LoC with Pakistan in Simla in 1972. He said that absence of  D.P. Dhar from the final round of Simla meeting between Mrs. Indira Gandhi and Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto proved a disaster.

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