With the hope that dialogue with Pakistan will be on track soon, J&K CM Omar Abdullah favoured early engagement of people of all shades of opinion.
With the hope that dialogue with Pakistan will be on track soon, Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah today favoured early engagement of people of all shades of opinion, including separatists, for addressing the internal aspect of Kashmir issue.
He said that India's talks with Pakistan and engagement with the state of Jammu and Kashmir by the Centre should go on simultaneously, maintaining that separate talks with the Kashmiri people and Pakistan have not been of any help.
Addressing a conference on social and infrastructure development of the militancy-hit state, Omar said his state was unique in the country where these issues were "entwined with security and political condition of the state".
"Focus of Central government needs to remain on political aspects of Jammu and Kashmir as well because you cannot divorce this aspect. This is a nibbling issue both internally as well as externally. Some sort of revival of Indo-Pak dialogue has taken place as Pakistan works out to address India's concern on 26/11."
"The internal and external processes should move together...Jammu and Kashmir government is looking at the Centre for engagement at a political level. It is not my line of thinking to promote one or another voice.
"As chief minister, it is my job to ensure every voice is heard and opinion considered and then a consensus is arrived at," Omar said while his father and Union minister Farooq Abdullah, sitting on the dais, nodded his head in agreement.
"I hope that a long term political sustained initiative will be taken and New Delhi will engage with the state of Jammu and Kashmir and the opinion of every section of society concerned," he said.
In his address, Farooq Abdullah said that talks with Pakistan or Kashmiris could bear fruits only if there was a clear perspective and thinking on behalf of those sitting in New Delhi.
Referring to Round Table Conferences organised earlier in 2005 and 2007, Abdullah said, "the recommendations of some of the committees formed after the talks are gathering dust on the shelves of government department.
"I do not wish to sound a hawk on talks and I hope and pray to God Almighty that prime minister Manmohan Singh is successful in building good neighbourly relations with Pakistan. I, as his Cabinet colleague, can only offer my 100 per cent support," he said.
However, he cautioned that the Centre would "lose its face in the state, if it begins talks with all shades of opinion" without any proper planning.
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