Keran, Aug 16: The Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday said that stone pelting, shutdowns  and violence would not yield anything.  
 “We have undergone a saga of militancy and we know it has yielded nothing for us,” Omar said while addressing a gathering in this frontier area.
 He urged people to help restore normalcy and work for peaceful settlement of political issues on table. “When dialogue process is available why to resort to stone pelting and hartals,” he questioned.
 The leaders perpetrating these tactics need to realize that when they can discuss anything on the table and put forth any solution to the problems in a free and fair atmosphere of dialogue where is the need to disturb the peace and put everyone in trouble.
 Omar welcomed the Government of India’s recognition of the fact that the accession of Jammu and Kashmir to India had taken place under unique circumstances necessitating addressing political issues of the state in a special manner. He also welcomed the Prime Minister’s statement on the issue of autonomy and said that time has provided a historic opportunity to the people of Jammu and Kashmir to take the advantage.
 He said that he had always advocated addressing political issues of Jammu and Kashmir politically and his party has always stood for the restoration of autonomy.
 The Chief Minister said that during election campaigning he had asked votes from the people for development and his government in past 18-months has focused on Pani, Bijli, Sadak, Taleem and Sahet, flagging employment and employability the major sectors of government concern. “We have promised to be facilitators in the talks at internal and external levels and my government is actively involved in it”, he added.
 Omar stressed on brotherly Indo-Pak relations and said that dialogue between the two countries in a friendly atmosphere would pave the way for settling all issues. “In the last 60-years period we have witnessed three and a half wars between the two countries without yielding any positive result. This highlights the need for addressing the issues peacefully”, he said.
 Omar said that the bad affects of gun and violence had engulfed Pakistan and there was immediate need for this country to “join hands with India to fight the terrorism” and help cultivate peace for the larger interests of the people.
 The Chief Minister expressed sorrow over the economic losses of in the recent torrential rains in the Keran area and said that government would take every measure to rehabilitate the affected families and restore the infrastructure.
 He announced six months ration for the affected families and special recruitment drive for the youth of the area. He said the demand of the people for separate development block for the area would be actively considered in the right forum and assured them concrete steps by the government for all round development of the area.

Lastupdate on : Mon, 16 Aug 2010 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Mon, 16 Aug 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Tue, 17 Aug 2010 00:00:00 IST