Farooq bats for friendly Indo-Pak ties

Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah today batted for friendly ties between India and Pakistan but cautioned that there were elements across the border that do not want peace.
"Be it today, tomorrow or after 10 years, it is important for us to have friendship with Pakistan.
"See, we have a border area and when there is shelling who suffers? The people of Delhi don't suffer, it is the people who live here along the border that suffer," Abdullah said on the sidelines of a function at Akhnoor today.
Noting that people have to leave their houses, land and cattle behind and run to save their lives during shelling, he said, "When will all this end? There is no way forward but only friendship."

However, Abdullah said there were "some people" across the border who don't want friendship between the two countries.
"Yes, there are some people across the border who don't want friendship and to defeat them we should adopt the path of dialogue which would weaken the forces that don't want peace between India and Pakistan," he said.

To a question regarding government formation in the state, the NC chief said with only 15 members in the Assembly his party does not have the mandate to form it.
"See, NC does not have mandate and with 15 people we cannot form the government and I don't feel that we can go ahead with the BJP or the PDP. After the election results came out, Omar Abdullah had proposed an alliance but other parties refused it," he said.

Abdullah also said that former chief minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed had a dream to keep all the three regions of the state together.
Speaking on the occasion, former Chief Minister and
National Conference Working President Omar Abdullah said that the state is facing grave challenge from divisive forces that were working overtime to generate hatred among religious communities and drift between the three regions of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh.
"There are political forces that are engaged in furthering communal and caste politics, which is against the essence of pluralistic state like Jammu and Kashmir", he said and urged the party cadre to stand against them for safeguarding the single entity and secular foundations of the state.

He said the existence of National Conference is due to its secular credentials and the cherished slogan of Sher-e-Kashmir Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah "Hindu Muslim, Sikh, Buddhist, Christian Unity" will always remain guiding force for the party.
Omarreferred to the polarising politics of the PDP and BJP saying while the former contested 2014 elections in Kashmir by instilling fear among people about the Sangh Parivar and later based its electoral plank on getting rid of Abdullah and Mufti dynasties'.
"Narendra Modi vowed during electioneering in the state to free J&K from Abdullahs and Muftis but took no time in allying with PDP after the poll results came out", he said and decried the opportunistic politics of the two parties.

The former Chief Minister expressed anguish over large scale devastation and destruction in Kashmir Valley during over past four months and claimed 90 youngsters got killed, hundreds were blinded and thousands injured.
"And the irony is that some people in the Centre are under the delusion of youngsters getting killed for Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes", he added.
He questioned the claims of normalcy dawning after demonetisation, saying the people of Kashmir would not sacrifice their sons for Rs 500 or Rs 1000 notes.
"There has been a widespread discontent among the people, which needs to be addressed by solving the political issues of Kashmir", he maintained.

Omar Abdullah, who is on a three day tour of Chinab Valley along with his father, Farooq Abdullah and several other senior leaders of the party was addressing a public rally at Dak Bungalow Bhaderwah.
"Our accession with Indian state was conditional and was limited only to currency, defense and foreign affairs but gradually they started draining it.
Then they came with the false promises, be it Narsimha Rao's 'Sky is the limit', or Vajpaye's confession from Lal Qilla on 15 August and now Narinder Modi's promises," said Omar Abdullah.