Mohammad Raafi

SRINAGAR

Stakeholders in Kashmir have welcomed the proposed Pakistan visit by external affairs minister, Sushma Swaraj and have pinned hopes that the breakthrough in talks would revitalize the stalled dialogue process between India and Pakistan on Kashmir issue.

While terming Swaraj’s Pak visit a “good beginning”, Hurriyat (m) said the dialogue is the only way forward to resolve the Kashmir issue.

“It is a good beginning,” Shahid-ul-Islam, the political advisor to Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, said, “Somewhere, the two countries have to sit and talk. The visit of Sushma Swaraj to Pakistan is a positive sign and we hope that India will seriously start deliberations with Pakistan to resolve Kashmir issue.”

However, Hurriyat (g) snubbed the renewed dialogue, saying talks between India and Pakistan over the last 68 years have “never been result-oriented”.

“The dialogues between the two countries have never been productive,” said Ayaz Akbar, Hurriyat (g) spokesperson. “We don’t oppose dialogue but unless India and Pakistan accept Kashmir as the core issue, the political uncertainty will continue to haunt the region.”

Meanwhile the unionists while welcoming the talks said the dialogue is the only way forward. In fact, the NC patron, Dr Farooq Abdullah had recently said the visit must lead to resumption of dialogue process and resolution of all outstanding issues between the two countries. “We do not know what they talked about but let us hope that they find some way of resolving this issue of J&K.”

CM Mufti Sayeed also termed the development as a “good beginning”.

“It is a welcome step and good beginning. We hope for success,” he told reporters in Jammu on the side lines of a function. “I think they (India and Pak) are preparing… I cannot jump the gun to say some big thing is going to happen. But a process has been started…To build confidence in each other. There is beginning,” he said. Sayeed said that “it was my stand… It was in my mind that it is going to happen….”

“Both the countries should decide that it was time to change the environment, the narrative and the mindset and to start investing in friendship, trust-building and serious mature relations with each other rather than investing in hostility and animosity which has always resulted into disastrous consequences for the people of the two countries especially in Jammu and Kashmir,” CPI (M) leader Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami said.

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