Srinagar-Kashmir, December 13 (Vijay Kumar) -Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) President Mehbooba Mufti on Sunday said that Kashmir problem is the oldest source of discard and tension in South Asia and its resolution can help in reducing the levels of violence and tension elsewhere as well and at the same time allowing governments of India and Pakistan to release more resources for the development and growth of their people. She said self rule, with its proposals on both external and internal dimensions of the problem cannot be over looked in any negotiation that aims at a pragmatic and acceptable solution to the problem.
Addressing one day seminar of civil society on self rule at Bandipura in North Kashmir, she said generations of Kashmiri’s have struggled, suffered and sacrificed for a just and lasting resolution of Kashmir problem and it was necessary that meaningful efforts must be made to respond to their aspirations. She said self rule is a document that has been prepared keeping these requirements in view. “This visionary document has been prepared by incorporating wishes and aspirations of all regions and sub-regions of the State”, she said.
Mehbooba Mufti said the dialogue process should not be seen as an objective to silence voices of decent but it should be the endeavor to reach a resolution through it. She said the trust deficit of Government of India on this account in the state was so huge that it will have to take extra care this time and make every effort to involve all shades of opinion in the process.
She said places like Bandipora which once were important stations on international trade routs were reduced to back ward dead ends like many other areas in the state as a result of partition. The self rule favours on neutralizing the negative fallout of the events of 1947 and reestablish the position of the state as an international trading hub, she said and added that our strategic location linked us with China, South Asia , Central Asia and West Asia. This advantage, she said, had unfortunately turned against us as a result of hostility between India and Pakistan.
Similarly, Mehbooba Mufti said the energy crises in the state was caused basically by denial of access to us to our own water resources “We could have been exporting power to most parts of India and Pakistan if the National Conference had not battered away our resources for political power and personal comfort” she said and added that projects like Kishen Ganga in Bandipora – Gurez area would provide power not to Jammu & Kashmir but
rest of the country while it will be our water, our land and our environment that will be exploited for the purpose. MLA Nizamudin Bhat and other senior party leaders also addressed the convention.