National Conference (NC) President Farooq Abdullah Sunday stressed the need for a thaw in the relations between India and Pakistan saying that this would hugely benefit the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
A statement of NC issued here quoted the NC president as addressing the party workers here as saying that the hostilities on borders only brings agonies and miseries to the dwellers, halts agriculture and economic activities, and impacts the way of life of every segment of the society.
Referring to the recent reiteration by both the countries to abide by ceasefire agreement in letter and spirit, the former chief minister and Member of Parliament said the people of Jammu and Kashmir wish and pray for success of this measure as it would bring some sort of relief to them.
He said both the countries were spending a substantial portion of their budgets on defence procurements, depriving the welfare of their poor populations.
Abdullah said peace was in the larger interest of the region, especially as people of the two countries had been yearning for good relations.
Invoking the words of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee ‘You can change your friends but not your neighbours’, he said that either the two countries have to grow friendship and prosper or continue the enmity and then there would be no prosperity.
Echoing the apprehensions that are in the minds of the people of Jammu and Kashmir about their lands and jobs going in the wake of 5th August 2019 political developments, the NC chief said that Article 370 was not just a Kashmir-centric issue but much-important to the regions of Jammu and Ladakh as well.
“To save the people, especially those of Jammu from the hegemony of the elite and affluent from the neighbouring states, Maharaja Hari Singh brought the law in 1927,” he said.
Abdullah exhorted the party cadre to reach out to the people and work for their betterment.
“The strength of NC comes from the people, who are the real fountainhead of power, which is not to rule but to serve the masses, irrespective of caste, creed, colour and religion,” he said. “It is the people who can change and shape their own destiny.”
The three-time chief minister said that the massive support despite numerous challenges reflects the deep faith of the people in NC, which had all along cherished the great values of the pluralistic ethos that had actually been a binding force between the regions and religions.
“We have to maintain, sustain and promote this spirit for making J&K a better place to live in,” he said. “This is what we owe to the posterity.”