SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (JKNC) Working President Omar Abdullah said that both India and Pakistan owe Kashmiris a credible peace process that would result in a sustainable solution of the Kashmir Issue.
While addressing a seminar, Abdullah said, “India and Pakistan should stop trying to beat each other at diplomatic fora and claim victory. Kashmiris have suffered a lot due to the fact that India and Pakistan have failed to initiate a comprehensive and sustained peace process that would simultaneously facilitate dialogue at both external and internal fronts.”
He added that Kashmiris deserve the uninterrupted and undivided attention of both India and Pakistan with a demonstrated intention and political will to resolve the political issue.
He added that diplomatic engagement between New Delhi and Islamabad had been defined by inconsistency and ambiguity. He said, “While successive governments in India and Pakistan have engaged with each other on Kashmir, we have achieved little as glimmers of hope have turned into despair as all such initiatives were derailed.”
He added that we needed to find a way around the egoistical stands and clichés and realise the enormous human costs of a prolonged conflict in Kashmir. “For a mutually acceptable, lasting and sustainable solution to be achieved, it is important that both New Delhi and Islamabad rise above domestic challenges and politics and play sober, constructive and result-oriented roles in their engagement on Kashmir,” Abdullah said.
The JKNC working president said, “The time has come to engage with the political sentiment in Kashmir and emulate various successful political initiatives from around the world where such conflicts were resolved.”
He added that there were various solutions that have been suggested over the years and there are many other agreements and treatise of conflict resolution that could form a basis of general emulation and inspiration.
“The key to unlocking a future of peace lies in acknowledging and respecting the political sentiment and aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir,” Omar said.
