Srinagar, Aug 15: The Chief Minister Omar Abdullah Sunday made a passionate appeal to Government of India to move forward on resolving Kashmir issue. Asking separatists to announce truce during holy month of Ramadan Omar said the ongoing protests in the Valley were not going to yield anything except destruction.
Addressing a gathering comprising of officials from police and civil administration at fortified Bakshi Stadium on the 64th I-Day function, Omar said New Delhi has a habit of turning back on its promises made on resolving Kashmir whenever normalcy returns to the Valley.
“One former Prime Minister of India announced on August 15 in Lal Qila that India has committed mistakes while handling Kashmir and time has come to solve the issue. Another Prime Minister said sky was the limit. But the promises were forgotten with return of normalcy,” Omar said after unfurling tri-color.
“I had told the Prime Minister, (Dr Manmohan Singh) and UPA chairperson (Sonia Gandhi) that Kashmir is a political issue and needs to be resolved politically. It seemed for quite some time that my appeal was not being taken seriously but now both the Prime Minister and Home Minister have told the Parliament that Kashmir needs a political solution,” Omar said.
He appealed New Delhi and separatists not to allow the present opportunity of resolving Kashmir to go begging. “We will persuade separatists to come on the table and let us see how far the center will go this time.”
Omar asked separatists to call for peace in holy Ramadhan. “Let separatists appeal youth not to indulge in stone pelting, I assure them of controlling the security forces. If there is no protest, no bullet will be fired,” Omar said. 
 Asking separatists to follow the foot steps of late Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah, Omar said, “He spent 22-years in prison but did not let his people suffer. He was always for dialogue and resolution of all issues on the table.”
 Stating that the 20-years of turmoil in the Valley had yielded nothing except for bloodshed and destruction, and the gun could not move an inch of land from this side to that side, Omar said the series of ongoing protests would meet the same fate. “People should put efforts to achieve autonomy, self-rule, achievable nationhood, Azadi or Pakistan but not at the cost of poor people.”
 He said if the gun had changed anything for the past 20 years it was the governments only and nothing else. 
 “Those who are asking youth to pelt stones saying that it will bring Azadi are the same people who were asking youth 20- years ago to take gun claiming it will bring freedom. I wish these people could persuade the youth that nothing changed in the last 20 years and nothing is going to change.”
 The Prime Minister, he said had agreed to discuss autonomy for Kashmir. “Some vested interests falsely believe that another 2-months of protests could bring Azadi. The PM has stated that Kashmir’s accession to India was in unique circumstances and its solution should be unique also. The solution can’t be achieved through gun but dialogue both at the internal and external front,” Omar said. 
 He expressed grave concern over the present situation in the Valley, saying precious lives have been during past 2-months in Kashmir and Ladakh. “There seems to be no end to the protests. I express my sympathies with families of those who loved ones were killed,” the Chief Minister added.

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