Varmul, July 5: Advocating a political dialogue between New Delhi and Srinagar, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today said that time had come to address the Kashmir problem with sincerity.
Addressing a citizens’ meeting in Varmul, Omar said time has come to go to the root of the problem in Kashmir and address it with all sincerity. He appealed to the Union Government that while a dialogue has started between India and Pakistan at different levels, a political dialogue between the Centre and different shades of opinion within the state must also start in right earnest, saying his government was ready to act as a facilitator for such a dialogue.
He appealed to all shades of opinion to leave behind their personal agendas and come forward for a meaningful dialogue in the interest of the people of Jammu & Kashmir.
Omar said his government was not a selected government but democratically elected by the people of Jammu & Kashmir and therefore “we owe it to the people to live up to their expectation and fulfill their aspirations.”
He said his government was committed to the people of the state and will work for them as per their wishes. Omar said he will continue to reach out to the people at the grass root level, understand their aspirations and strive to resolve the issues close to their heart as per their expectations.  He said his government was for the people of Jammu & Kashmir and shall fight for their rights and address their issues. He announced that he will soon roll out a programme of meeting the civil society at the Tehsil level.
Referring to the Uri-Muzafarabad road, he said the initiative of opening the road was incomplete as long as it is only confined to the divided families. He urged the Union Government to open the Uri-Muzafarabad road for all the people of Jammu & Kashmir living across the line of control irrespective of whether they have relatives on either side. He said that for peace to come to Jammu & Kashmir it was imperative that people to people contact between the two parts of Jammu & Kashmir must start and that there should be free movement of people across the LoC. He said he wished that someday in his lifetime Muzaffarabad and Srinagar are linked by railway line.
He said the lines between the two countries cannot be redrawn but they can be made irrelevant and ‘we must all work towards that.’ He said during Manmohan-Musharraf talks ‘we were close to a solution but circumstances derailed the process, but we should not lose heart and restart an effort to initiate a meaningful dialogue and strengthen the confidence-building measures between the two nations and the people on both sides of Jammu & Kashmir.’
Omar said his government will work with the Union Government to strengthen the cross-LoC trade and change it from a barter system to proper trade where the financial transactions actually happen through the banking system.
Omar said democracy gives the right to opinion and expression and he is not the one to stifle this right of anyone. He said that those who do not agree with him also should come forward to show their dissent in a peaceful manner, discuss and debate various issues pertaining to the people of Jammu & Kashmir, so that together a consensus can be formulated and a road map for a Naya Kashmir be rolled out which is for a better, brighter and peaceful Jammu & Kashmir.
The speakers in the meeting besides giving suggestions for maintenance of peace also talked about developmental issues pertaining to Varmul district. They also stressed on enforcing restraint among troops while dealing with public demonstrations.
The meeting started with prayers for those who have lost their lives in recent incidents. The participants offered a Fatiha for peace to the departed souls and conveyed condolences to the bereaved families.
The meeting was attended by ministers Ali Muhammad Sagar, Taj Mohi-ud-Din, Ghulam Hassan Mir, Minster of State Javaid Dar, Advisors to Chief Minister Mubarak Gul and Devender Singh Rana, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Khursheed A Ganai, Special Commissioner, North Kashmir, MS Khan and Special IGP Pankaj Saxena.
Journalists were not allowed inside the venue. However, officials in the Chief Minister’s Office said the journalists were told that they could attend the meeting but there would be no question-answer session inside and they could wait for CM to come out. This was not acceptable to the journalists.

Lastupdate on : Mon, 5 Jul 2010 21:30:00 Mecca time
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