Srinagar, July 4: The Chief Minster Omar Abdullah Sunday appealed to the civil society to join hands with him and his government to make an “all inclusive effort” to bring about peace and normalcy in Jammu and Kashmir and deliver better governance. He urged the civil society to be a watchdog of his government and suggest wherever a course correction was required.
 In a democratic setup, Omar said, expression of views was the right of every citizen. “But anger should not be expressed by throwing stones and disturbing law and order as there are other democratic methods of registering protest,” he said, adding maintenance of law and order and tranquility was the responsibility of both citizens and the government and both should complement each other in this task.
 Omar was chairing a meeting of prominent citizens, traders’ representatives, hoteliers, travel agents, houseboat owners, artisans, taxi operators, shopkeepers, shikara union, transporters and members of the civil society here.
 Omar said while the government was determined to discipline the security forces and book the violators of human rights it was the responsibility of the senior citizens to play their role in influencing those who indulge in stone-pelting. “Hartals and law and order disturbances mar the educational career of students and thereby affect their future career prospects,” he said, adding rumour mongers and vested interests took advantage of such situations and added fuel to the fire. “We have to be cautious about such elements, identify and isolate them,” he said, impressing upon the civil society to rise to the occasion and help in restoration of peace and order in the state.
 Omar said “Peace is a must to enable us to move forward on all fronts whether political, social, economic or developmental.”
 He reiterated that Kashmir issue needed a political resolution which was possible only when all the stakeholders make an effort in this direction.
 Referring to his speech before the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh during the inauguration of Qazigund-Islamabad railway track in 2009, Omar said, “I categorically said that Kashmir problem is a political one and it needed a political solution. Economic packages can have their role but these alone cannot address the aspirations of the people of the state.”
 “We have been strong votaries of dialogue both internal as well as external to help resolve issues”, Omar said, underlining the importance of urgent need of restoring the dialogue process.
 An official spokesperson said the speakers in the meeting were unanimous in appreciating Omar Abdullah for his “bold and frank initiatives” in addressing the Kashmir problem politically. “They (speakers) stressed on enforcing maximum restraint on the security forces and suggested a more pro-active role for the J&K Police and the need to respect the institutions of administration and making them more accountable and transparent,” he said. “They gave various suggestions about handling such situation and maintaining calm in the state and also appreciated the role of the civil society of Jammu in the present situation by defeating the designs of the vested interests and said that Kashmiris have always welcomed the Yatris and the tourists as their guests and will continue to do so in the future.”
 The Chief Minister assured them that their suggestions would be actively considered and the rapport between administration and the civil society further strengthened and institutionalized.
 The meeting began with prayers for peace to the departed souls of those who lost their precious lives in the recent incidents.
 Those who spoke in the meeting included President KCCI, President FCIK, President KHROF, Chairman JKTA, President Fruit Growers Association, Chairman TAAI, representatives of Houseboat Owners Association, President TASK, Chairman Taxi Operators Association , representatives of artisans, KTMF, General Secretary Shiromani Gurduwara Prabandak, representatives of Shopkeepers Association, Transport Unions, Shikara unions, and other senior citizens.
 The Minister for School Education Peerzada Muhammad Sayeed, Minister for PHE  Taj Mohi-ud-Din, Minister for Rural Development Ali Muhamad Sagar, Minister of State for Tourism Nasir Aslam Wani, Advisors to Chief Minister Mubarak Gul, Devender Singh Rana, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Khurshed A. Ganai, Divisional Commissioner Kashmir Naseema Lankar were also present in the meeting.

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