Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Feb 2: People’s Democratic Party (PDP) president and former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti today again batted for talks with Pakistan asking how long India and Pakistan will keep blaming each other. She demanded opening of more cross-LoC routes between India and Pakistan including Kargil-Skardu for which the people of Kargil had taken out massive procession in Kargil town yesterday.
Speaking to reporters here after joining of the PDP by former Jammu and Kashmir Teachers Forum (JKTF) president, Abdul Qayoom Wani, Mehbooba asked if Muzaffarabad and Rawlakote roads can be thrown open, then why not other routes, including Kargil-Skardu.
”When former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee went to Lahore and talks were on with the Hurriyat, was the situation not worse at that time? What is wrong at present in holding talks with Pakistan?” she asked.
”For how long will both (India-Pakistan) keep blaming each other and continue bloodshed,” she wondered.
If they (Pakistan) are involved in infiltration, then they must be asked why they are doing so, by engaging them in dialogue, Mehbooba suggested.
The PDP leader announced that Abdul Qayoom Wani, who joined the party in her presence here this morning, will be the party’s Parliament candidate from Baramulla constituency.
”After consulting all the party leaders, it was decided that Wani will be the PDP candidate from Baramulla Parliament constituency for Lok Sabha polls,” she added.
Demanding opening of all routes, including Kargil-Skardu, with Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), Mehbooba said such initiatives will not only open up Jammu and Kashmir to the world, but also serve the cause of peace beyond boundaries.
Mehbooba said opening of all routes with PoK was one of the points envisaged in the ‘Self Rule’ document of PDP.
Taking to micro-blogging site Twitter, she said ”PDP envisaged through #SelfRule not only opening of #KargilSkardu, but other routes too, to let people explore & increase contacts across borders. Such initiatives will not only open up JK to the world around us, but also serve the cause of peace beyond boundaries @jkpdp.”
Mehbooba also condemned the gruesome killing of a young woman by militants in Shopian district of the Kashmir valley.
Ishrat Muneer, a 25-year-old woman from Pulwama, was shot dead at point blank range by militants in Shopian district on Thursday night. They made a video of the incident and circulated it on social media.
Mehbooba wrote on twitter: “Women living in conflict areas like Kashmir have faced unimaginable pain & trauma. No words are enough to condemn her gruesome and barbaric murder”.
Hailing Qayoom Wani’s services as a Trade Union leader, Mehbooba Mufti said that he has always represented the unrepresented in the corridors of power of the State and remained in the forefront throughout his career to highlight the hardships faced by the State’s working class.
Wani, while addressing the press soon after joining the party, stated that it was the vision of the PDP that inspired him to join the party and become part of the caravan which is striving on all fronts to get the State out of the squalid conditions and make peace and prosperity permanent in Jammu and Kashmir.
“The Confidence Building Measures taken by the PDP founder Mufti Mohammad Sayeed like ending of the Ikhwan era, talks with Hurriyat and opening of the Muzaffarabad route are enough to make one understand the pro-people policies of the PDP and why every peace-loving citizen of the state is duty bound to strengthen the party on ground,” Wani said.
He added that the basic reason for him to join the party is to strive for fulfilling the PDP’s mission and make strenuous efforts in stopping the vicious cycle of violence which is consuming State’s younger generation with each passing day.
Besides party president Mehbooba Mufti and Patron Muzaffar Hussain Beigh, PDP vice president Chowdary Abdul Hameed, Abdul Haq Khan, Mohammad Khurshid Alam, Khalil Bandh, Chowdhary Zulfikar, Aijaz Mir, Firdous Tak, Abdul Majeed Paddar and several others attended the function.
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