Mehbooba Mufti appeal to restart Indo-Pak dialogue to end bloodshed in Kashmir

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti Sunday made an appeal to Indo-Pak leadership to resume the dialogue process to end the ongoing bloodshed in the Valley.

"For how long should humanity be let to bleed. The leadership of both the countries should rise to the occasion and change the hate mongering between the two people into a peace narrative", she said while addressing people at the mausoleum of her father late Mufti Muhammad Sayeed on the occasion of his second death anniversary in Bijbehara town of Anantnag.

"I request both Pakistan and Prime Minister of India, for the sake of the people of Jammu and Kashmir and for the safety of their soldiers, to sort out their differences, talk and be friends," Mehbooba said.

The Chief Minister regretted the loss of lives on the borders during shelling, consequent inconvenience to border people and a general insecurity among people of the two countries about each other.

"Amicable and friendly relationship between the two countries has a positive bearing on the situation in the State which has seen enough of bloodshed during the last three decades or so," Mehbooba said.

 She said violence has inflicted only miseries upon the people and the State needed to be got out of this vicious cycle.

"This was the main objective to stitch the alliance for government formation (with BJP) in the State and we will continue to pursue this goal with all seriousness," Mehbooba said.

Paying rich tributes to late Mufti, the Chief Minister said he was the architect of a vision and mission whose sole objective was to get Jammu & Kashmir out of the miseries of times and give its people prosperous and peaceful times.

The opening of more routes, better neighbourly relations between the two countries and more people to people contacts were the immediate results and response of this doctrine, she said and regretted that things were not taken so seriously after the late leader demitted office in 2005.