SRINAGAR: Peoples Conference senior vice president and former minister Abdul Gani Vakil on Wednesday welcomed statements on initiating dialogue with the Hurriyat leadership coming from senior leaders in the ruling party.
Terming it as a positive development and a step towards the right direction, Vakil said that the Government of India has realized the gravity of the situation & futility of muscle policy and is now willing to open dialogue channels with the Hurriyat Conference.
Both sides must understand that this endless wait for a meaningful dialogue is seriously hitting the development and making people suffer for no fault of theirs. Tourism is in shambles, youth are suffering for want of employment, development is stagnated, people are alienated and sense of insecurity is increasing among the people,” adding that only sustained interaction and dialogue can arrest the trend of death and destruction and bring peace to the valley.
Addressing various groups of people on his visit to Ruhama and Logripora villages of Rafiabad, Vakil hoped that India would assume a big-brotherly role viz-a-viz Pakistan and engage them in a sustained and result oriented dialogue.
“India and Pakistan must work through their differences and engage in a meaningful dialogue to settle all outstanding issues. For peace to return to valley, both countries have to give dialogue a chance.”
Vakil also hoped that the Home Minister, on his visit to Kashmir, would send out a positive message on the resumption of dialogue with all stakeholders in Kashmir. He said it would not only be in the best interests of the people of the state but the entire country.
Lashing out at NC leadership, Vakil said that NC has been in power for most part of the history in Kashmir and is responsible for all the turmoil, lawlessness and disorder in the state.
“At the core of every misery, every exploitation inflicted upon the Kashmiri nation since 1975 one can find an Abdullah linkage. From bartering our Wazir-e- Azam and Sadar-i-Riyasat for a toothless CM to enacting PSA (1977) as a means of purging the opposition especially the Jamaat-e-Islami, NC has betrayed Kashmiris at every critical juncture of history”, he added. (PTK)
