Former chief minister of Indian-occupied Kashmir (IoK) Farooq Abdullah said that Pakistan and India will have to talk if they want to resolve the Kashmir dispute, expressing his disagreement over the Narendra Modi government’s policy for Pakistan.
While addressing a media event in New Delhi on Friday, he further said that both India and Pakistan are nuclear powers and should acknowledge the fact that it would be impossible for them to engage in a nuclear war and that talks over the Kashmir issue would be the best solution of this conflict.
Abdullah said that during his visit to Pakistan, the former Indian prime minister Vajpayee proposed to Pakistan that they could keep Kashmir on their side (Azad Kashmir) of Line of Control and India would keep the territory on its side of Line of Control. However, that proposal could not be implemented. Abdullah implored the US to play the role of mediator between India and Pakistan to resolve the dispute.
He added that the lack of political will to engage with the aspirations of the people of Kashmir with a sense of seriousness and honesty had created an enormous trust deficit which has been further increased by recent betrayals and U-turns.
He reiterated that dreams and aspirations of another generation in Kashmir cannot be sacrificed and the time has come for India and Pakistan to understand that they owe it to the people of Jammu and Kashmir to resolve this issue once for all.
