Ex Home Minister of India, former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed has called for de-escalation of tension between India and Pakistan to prevent the new threats from endangering the region's security and stability.
In a statement Sayeed made it clear that the two countries have no choice but to find a joint solution to their problems including that of terrorism. "In this challenging scenario, sub-continent's security and stability would largely depend on how the leadership of India and Pakistan confronts the intricate situation developing in the region," he said.
Asserting that war provided no solution to the crisis created by the tragic Mumbai terror attacks, Sayeed said the political leadership of the two nuclear neighbors must keep channels of communication open to redeem the faith their respective countries have placed in their wisdom. "We have seen in our neighborhood how use of force had intensified violence in and around Afghanistan rather than solving any problems in the region", he pointed out.
Mufti said Jammu & Kashmir had been a victim of unsettled political atmosphere in South Asia for the last six decades. Any fresh hostilities would result only in further pain and agony for us, he said and added it was a tragic irony that the latest war hysteria was coming at a time when people of Jammu and Kashmir had once again rejected violence as a political instrument.
PDP patron said action needed to be taken against those who harmed innocent civilians in any manner and every state had a duty towards its citizens. "Whether war could serve that purpose will have to be weighed in the background of current hot spots like Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan", he said. He expressed hope that diplomatic efforts would prove effective to bring culprits to book and retrieve peace process between India and Pakistan.
Mufti said people of Jammu & Kashmir had, in recent elections voted overwhelmingly in favor of peace and resolution. "If these objectives are not achieved along with economic emancipation and removal of the feeling of deprivation and disempowerment, Kashmir has the potential of sinking back into the most dangerous spot in the world", he cautioned.
"Kashmir has charted its own course of peaceful resistance and struggle and this momentous transformation has to be respected and responded to," Sayeed said. He said the collective and inclusive efforts of last six years need to be taken further to permanently rid the State and the region of the dangers and pitfalls confronting it.
"Renewed efforts are needed, both within the State and in Delhi to carry forward the process of reconciliation between political aspirations of the State and its developmental needs," Sayeed said and added that the developmental initiatives have to be supplemented with adequate political input to have an impact on the ground. "For PDP, securing political and economic rights of the people of Jammu & Kashmir is paramount to all other considerations," he said.
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