NC says Indo-Pak spat a nightmare for Kashmir

Jammu and Kashmir’s main Opposition National Conference (NC) said that India-Pakistan diplomatic “aggression” is proving a nightmare for the people of Kashmir. It urged the two countries to give up confrontation as “there is no alternative to engagement and cooperation”.

Meanwhile, various separatist organisations have ridiculed minister of external affairs Sushma Swaraj’s speech in the United Nations General Assembly in course of which she had asked Pakistan to abandon its “Kashmir dream”, reiterating the state was an integral part of India. “What she forgot is that Kashmir is an internationally recognised disputed territory. Freedom is not just a dream, but passion of the people of Kashmir. We will never be weary in the defence of freedom nor shall we abandon the pursuit of liberty and peace. We shall triumph. This is our indigenous movement and we shall continue to nourish it with our blood and fight till the dawn of freedom appears,” said Syed Ali Shah Geelani. Similar statements have been issued by other separatist leaders and parties.

The NC expressed serious concern over rising diplomatic tension and hostility between New Delhi and Islamabad and reiterated that there was no alternative to meaningful and sustained engagement between the two neighbours. “The leadership of both countries owe it to the suffering, tormented people of J&K to engage with each other with sincerity and a sense of responsibility in an effort to find a lasting solution to the Kashmir Issue,” said NC’s state spokesperson Junaid Azim Mattu.

“Aggression — whether military, diplomatic or rhetorical — will not yield any favourable results for either countries. Neither will it curb the menace of terrorism nor will it magically normalise the situation in Kashmir,” Mr Mattu asserted.