Jammu, Feb 27: Expressing disappointment at the lack of any progress reported in this week’s Indo- Pak secretary level meeting, Peoples Democratic Party patron Mufti Muhammad Sayeed has said the two countries need to display a better sense of purpose in pursuing the dialogue process.
 In a statement here today he said such hollow and purposeless engagement would only fuel cynicism and help negative forces.
 Mufti said while it was becoming clear with every passing day that there was no alternative to dialogue for resolution of issues, the zero sum game defied logic. “If we talk we have to do it with clear objectives, a sense of purpose, political will and an open mind,” he said and stressed the current stalemate had damaging implications for Jammu and Kashmir.
 “We don’t add either to our growing stature as a global player nor help the socio economic development of the region by shying away from seriously discussing all issues including Kashmir. The off-now-on-now attitude has only piled up problems and when the country is making new strides on every front the festering sore in Kashmir acts as a moral impediment,” he said.
 Mufti said the coalition government was unfortunately being seen as working at cross purposes with the people’s interests and this perception was harming the entire political structure. He said people who had defied all apprehensions to vote in the last elections are getting disillusioned by the inability of the government to deliver either on development or political front. “This government must understand it is not running a municipality but it has to be addressing all aspirations of the people” he added.
 Mufti said he felt sad witnessing the reversal of a great process of reconciliation that the previous coalition had initiated and nurtured with unqualified support from the central leadership of NDA and UPA. He said it was even more painful that the present government was refusing to learn either from its own mistakes or from the past, blaming opposition for every wrong and in the process damaging the credibility of the entire system that had been restored to some extent. He said J&K is like no other state and the ruling class could ignore that fact only at the risk of repeating past blunders and causing familiar disasters.

Lastupdate on : Sat, 27 Feb 2010 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Sat, 27 Feb 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Sun, 28 Feb 2010 00:00:00 IST