President of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Mehbooba Mufti today called upon India and Pakistan to try peace instead of hostility which has brought only miseries to the people of this region.She said that latest violence across the International Border (IB) comes at a time when both the countries should have been utilize their resources and energies to provide relief to the people of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir which has been reeling under the unprecedented floods.Expressing her grave concern over loss of precious human lives and properties in recent firing across the IB, she said that it is unfortunate that our country and Pakistan are wasting their energies and capabilities on the senseless war exercises rather than addressing genuine problems of the people.
Mehbooba Mufti along with senior leaders of the PDP today visited different border areas of Kathua, Samba and Jammu districts. She also interacted with people who were forced to leave their homes and hearths due to escalation of hostility on the borders.
“For the last more than 65 years armies of both the countries have tried everything, from full scale wars to border skirmishes, but it has yielded nothing except deaths and destructions. What do they want to achieve through fresh meaningless violence on the borders?”, she asked.She said that Kashmir and many parts of Jammu have witnessed worst ever nature’s fury in the shape of unprecedented floods. The State Government is completely failed to address woes of the flood ravaged people of the State, she said and added miseries of the flood affected people are compounding with every passing day but response of government is not adequate. As if the act of nature was not enough that the two sides decided to use mortars guns and bombs to target each other. On both sides the civilians have died and lost their properties without being able to achieve anything except creating inpidual tragedies and making us a laughing stock before the whole world, she observed.
Asking India and Pakistan to resume talks to restore lasting and sustainable peace in this region, Mehbooba Mufti said that Jammu Kashmir should not be made a battle-ground.“We appeal India to resume a dialogue process with Pakistan and if they want a war with Pakistan then I appeal them that they should fight it in anywhere else not in Jammu and Kashmir where people have been suffering for a long time,” she said and reiterated that dialogue is the only mean of establishing peace in this region.Mehbooba reminded the people that it was during PDP’s tenure in the government in 2003, that the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had not only started peace process with Pakistan but also announced historic cease-fire on the borders which brought peace and tranquillity in the life of people living on the borders from Kathua to Kargil.
“The incumbent rulers of both India and Pakistan should learn from the statesmanship of Atal Bihari Vajpayee who took a bold and historical step to restore peace on the borders”, she said and asked both India and Pakistan to maintain spirit of the cease-fire announced in the year 2003.Responding to the demands of local people, Mehbooba Mufti supported the demand that alternative land measures five marlas should be provided to the borders residents residing in the firing range. “Alternative land should be provided to the border residents so that they can shift to the safer places with their families at the time of escalation of tension on the border”, she said.
PDP president also endorsed the demand that benefits given to the people living on Line of Control (LoC) should also be extended to those living near the International Border (IB) because residents of both the areas are facing similar problems.She also assured that take the issue of special recruitment drive in border areas so as to provide employment to the youth of these areas.Yuvraj Vikramaditya Singh, Trilok Singh Bajwa, Yashpal Sharma, Ved Mahajan, Shanti Devi, Rashid Malik, Dr Harmish Singh Slathia, Sunny Sangral, F C Bhagat, Jatinder Bhagat and others also spoke in the meetings. (KNS)