National Conference (NC) president Dr. Farooq Abdullah on Sunday said the latest agreement between India and Pakistan on ceasefire should hold because “either the two countries have to grow friendship and prosper or continue the enmity at the cost of prosperity”.
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“Peace is in the larger interest of the region, especially as the people of the two countries have been yearning for good relations. Both the countries are spending a substantial portion of budget on defence procurements thus depriving welfare of their poor populations,” Dr. Abdullah, Member of Parliament from Srinagar, said.
He said the thaw in the relations between India and Pakistan “will hugely benefit the people of J&K”.
“Hostilities on borders bring only agonies and miseries to the dwellers, halt agriculture and economic activities, and impact the way of life of every segment of society,” he said.
He said the people of J&K wish and pray for the success of this latest truce. “As former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee rightly said that 'you can change your friends but not your neighbours'. Either the two countries have to grow friendship and prosper or continue the enmity at the cost of no prosperity,” he added.
The former chief minister said the matter of downgrading of Article 370 was not just Kashmir centric only but much more important to the regions of Jammu and Ladakh.
“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,” Dr. Abdullah said.
