Dialogue only way forward for peace: Farooq

Tribune News Service

Jammu, June 30

National Conference president Farooq Abdullah on Sunday said dialogue was the only way forward to herald peace, hoping that the Centre would take an initiative in this regard soon.

“The process of dialogue should be initiated with all shades of opinion in Jammu and Kashmir and also with Pakistan to achieve the larger objective of peace in the state,” Farooq said.

Accompanied by provincial president Devender Singh Rana, the National Conference chief said history stands testimony that all issues had been sorted by sitting around the table and hoped that the common sentiment for the dialogue process would be initiated by India and Pakistan, sooner the better.

He said the dialogue process was launched by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee even after the hostilities in a bid to improve the relations.

Farooq said the beneficiaries of the dialogue would be people of Jammu and Kashmir, who had been bearing the brunt of hostilities. He exuded confidence that the Indo-Pak talks would lead to the culmination of the border hostilities and the cycle of violence in Kashmir.

He said talks with all stakeholders with an avowed objective of addressing the internal and external dimensions of the Jammu and Kashmir imbroglio, which he termed as political in character, would be a major initiative towards lasting peace in the region.

“The National Conference has constantly been maintaining that the Indo-Pak bonhomie will usher in a new era of peace and prosperity in the state. Animosity can achieve nothing but destruction,” he said

On the commencement of the Amarnath yatra, Farooq wished a blissful pilgrimage to the devotees thronging from various parts of the country. He described the yatra as a symbol of communal harmony and hoped it would further foster the bonds of amity and brotherhood.