Provincial President National Conference, Devender Singh Rana on Saturday expressed anguish over continued shelling from across the border and loss of life and property in the forward areas of the Jammu region and sought resumption of dialogue between India and Pakistan to bring an end to border skirmishes.
“The fallout of hostilities between New Delhi and Islamabad is being felt in Jammu and Kashmir with people becoming fodder of cannon on the borders”, Rana said while interacting with media persons outside Government Medical College Hospital, Jammu this afternoon.He visited the hospital immediately after victims of shelling in R S Pura were brought for specialized treatment. Two villagers were killed and seven others including a BSF Jawan injured early this morning in R S Pura sector near International Border. Rana conveyed his condolences to the bereaved families and prayed for early recovery of the injured.The Provincial President said peace on borders is imperative for normalisation of relations between India and Pakistan. He said the border dwellers in Jammu and Kashmir had witnessed an era of peace following ceasefire agreement between India and Pakistan during the tenure of the then Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee.
He said the former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh gave further impetus to the normalisation of relations, which are needed to be carried forward with a renewed commitment. He said there is no alternative to peace as hostilities have only brought miseries to the people on both sides of border. Rana said National Conference stands for peace between India and Pakistan, as the scars of border skirmishes are felt only in Jammu and Kashmir and not in Islamabad or New Delhi. He called for sagacious approach to sort out the issues and creating conducive atmosphere for talks. “The people of Jammu and Kashmir had pinned many hopes with the resumption of dialogue at Foreign Secretaries level”, he said and hoped that the leadership of the two countries will not allow situation to go out of hands and utilize every opportunity to herald peace in the region.Rana expressed concern over the migration of border dwellers, saying due to continuous firing has created panic in the villages adjacent to International Border. He expressed solidarity with those forced to leave their homes and hearths and made a fervent appeal to the government for taking all necessary measures to provide respite to them. (KNS)