As Kashmir continues to remain on an edge in the wake of roll back of special status of erstwhile state of J&K,people in the valley of unease are pinning high hopes on the United Nations General Assembly session with many elderly and young expecting some respite for the prevailing uncertainty in Kashmir.The meeting on the sidelines of the UNGA will likely bring Jaishankar and his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi face to face for the first time after the revocation of the Article 370 from the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir. Besides, Prime Minister Narendera Modi and Prime Minister Imran Khan are set to make speeches with primary focus on Kashmir.According to a wire service—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), India is all set to participate at the SAARC foreign ministers meeting that is to be held on Thursday on the sidelines of UN General Assembly amid heightened tensions with Pakistan just after scrapping of the special status to Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370.Yasir Shah, a resident of Srinagar told the wire service Kashmir News Observer (KNO), “I just hope that in the UNGA there will be a good news for the people of the valley who are facing restrictions and cellular communication gag from the last 54 days.”
He told KNO, that the people have suffered mentally and economically as well in the aftermath of rollback of the special status of Jammu-Kashmir. He further said,” The UNGA platform is the great venue where the two leaders of the arch rival nations can put an end to rivalry and contribute their best in making the world best place to live.”Another resident of Srinagar Uzair Mir told KNO,” I have been waiting for this UN General Assembly like others with an expectation of putting an end to the prevailing uncertainty due to which the lives of about 7,00,000 have come to a grinding halt with the closure of educational institutions, suspension of public transport, shutdown of business operations, and the block-down of the cellular communication & complete internet gag through the valley on the 54th consecutive day.He told the wire service that the people of the region are caught in between the devil and the deep sea and that suffering can come to an immediate end if the leaders of India and Pakistan eliminate their differences through dialogue. He added that, “It’s the right time for the world community to encourage India and Pakistan for a fruitful dialogue on Kashmir which can bring a new sunshine for the people of Kashmir who are reeling under the darkness of uncertainty and cellular communication gag.” (KNO)