- Mehbooba Mufti backs people-to-people contact with Pakistan, calls dialogue key to Kashmir resolution
Srinagar, May 17: Peoples Democratic Party President and former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Sunday, as per reports welcomed RSS General Secretary Dattatreya Hosabale’s recent remarks supporting people-to-people contact with Pakistan, saying dialogue remains the only meaningful way to break the prolonged deadlock and move towards peace in the region.
Addressing a party workers’ convention in Srinagar, Mehbooba said the resolution of the Kashmir issue must come through dialogue, engagement and within the framework of the Constitution. She maintained that the people of Jammu and Kashmir seek peace with dignity and that meaningful political engagement is essential for reconciliation and stability.
“The solution to Kashmir lies in dialogue and within the framework of the Constitution. Whatever we have to achieve needs to be done from Delhi and here in Jammu and Kashmir. We believe in engagement and talks. We seek peace with dignity,” Mehbooba said.
The PDP chief said Hosabale’s statement on maintaining a window for dialogue and encouraging people-to-people contact with Pakistan reflects what PDP founder Mufti Mohammad Sayeed had advocated throughout his political life. She said Mufti Sayeed consistently supported opening traditional routes connecting Jammu and Kashmir with the other side of Kashmir, Pakistan, China and Central Asia to revive historic, cultural and economic linkages.
“What Hosabale has said now is what Mufti Mohammad Sayeed advocated till his last breath. Open our roads leading to the other side of Kashmir, Pakistan, China and Central Asia. If Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants to carve a name for himself, he should resolve the Kashmir issue and involve Pakistan in the process,” Mehbooba said.
Referring to Prime Minister Modi’s Lahore visit in 2016, Mehbooba said she was not suggesting that the Prime Minister had made no attempt towards peace. However, she noted that such outreach efforts must receive a positive response from Pakistan and must also be accompanied by dialogue with the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
“I am not saying that Narendra Modi has done nothing for the resolution of the Kashmir issue. He visited Lahore in 2016, but it was followed by the Pathankot attack. Pakistan will have to respond positively to any outreach from India. At the same time, Delhi will have to listen to the voice of Kashmiris,” she said.
Mehbooba said development alone cannot substitute political resolution. Quoting Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, she said that even if roads of gold and bridges of silver are built, they would not bring lasting peace unless the core issue is addressed through dialogue and reconciliation.
“Development is good, but talks can make you a statesman for peace in the region and South Asia. Peace in Kashmir can show the way forward,” she said.
The PDP President also called for the release of political detainees ahead of Eid, stating that such a move would be a meaningful confidence-building measure. She said releasing prisoners would send a strong message of reconciliation, compassion and healing to the people of Kashmir.
Mehbooba’s remarks came in the backdrop of Hosabale’s recent statement that Pakistan’s military and political leadership had lost India’s confidence and that civil society should play a role in rebuilding connections because of shared cultural ties. His view also found support from former Army Chief General M.M. Naravane, who said people-to-people contact is important and that ordinary citizens are separate from political disputes.
Former Army Chief Naravane observed that friendship between people can help create space for better relations between nations. Mehbooba said such statements should be taken seriously as an opportunity to restart engagement, restore confidence and search for a peaceful way forward.
The PDP chief reiterated that Kashmir’s future cannot be secured through silence, distance or confrontation. She said sustained dialogue with the people of Jammu and Kashmir, along with a broader regional peace initiative, is essential for long-term stability in the subcontinent.