Jammu, Sep 23: The Peoples Democratic Party patron Mufti Muhammad Sayeed Sunday called for a sustained dialogue between India and Pakistan to resolve the vexed Kashmir issue.
 Addressing civil society members from Jammu, Sayeed said the process of dialogue and peace between two the countries is going on at a snail’s pace.  “The dialogue process should not be related to events but should be process-driven and result-oriented so that the elements inimical to peace are sidelined and the process of reconciliation is taken to logical conclusion,” he said.
 He said that to bring stability in Jammu and Kashmir, the Government of India must involve all the sections of the society including all political parties of the country in a constructive and meaningful dialogue process for amicable settlement of the Kashmir issue. He asked people of the country not to mistrust people of Jammu and Kashmir, especially from the Valley.
 “People of Jammu and Kashmir are not at the fault. It is the political leadership of the state which has to be blamed for the existing trust-deficit between the residents of Jammu and Kashmir with the rest of the country,” Mufti said, calling for concrete steps to remove apprehensions from both sides to establish lasting peace in the region.
 The PDP patron reiterated the resolve of his party to bring people of different regions and sub-regions together. “During our tenure we proved how to treat all regions and sub-regions equally. We would further facilitate the process of bridging this gap to ensure justice and equality to all regions and sub-regions of the state,” he said, adding, “A mechanism would be evolved to eliminate any kind of discrimination with any region or sub-region of the state.”
 Mufti claimed that the PDP government had set “an example of equitable and balanced development in Jammu and Kashmir.” 
 Sayeed said the PDP’s vision has potential to address external and internal dimension of the Kashmir problem. “In our document we have suggested to make Jammu and Kashmir as a free economic zone,” he said. “We demand that Jammu and Kashmir should be made a testing ground for SAARC countries by easing visa restrictions and custom free trade among both parts of Kashmir.”

Lastupdate on : Sun, 23 Sep 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
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