India, Pak must sit and find solution to Kashmir issue: Farooq Abdullah

Shortly after the conclution of the meeting that was attended by almost all the opposition leaders from the Kashmir Valley, Farooq Abdullah told reporters that he is in favour of resuming talks with Pakistan for he believes that it is the only way to get peace in Kashmir.

“We are only interested in peace, India and Pakistan must sit down and resolve their issues,” he said.

Evoking Atal Bihari Vajpayee's remarks, Abdullah said, “Remember what Vajpayeeji said ‘we can’t choose our neighbours’, so we have to talk to Pakistan, there is no other option.”

He said, “Only talks can bring a solution. If both countries will sit together as friends, there can be a solution.”

"All of us are looking for the way forward and not looking back at what happened," he said, adding he was "always in favour of peace".

The National Conference President said he was concerned about the turmoil in the Kashmir Valley that has left over 90 people dead and thousands injured since the July 8 killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani.

Abdullah said the situation demanded that "a solution needs to be found" to the vexed Kashmir issue.

He said that there is need to trample the spark that burns Kashmir every time.

“By dousing fire in Kashmir, you can’t get peace. Spark is there and that spark needs to be trampled. This spark can be get over through dialogue and for this reason India Pakistan must sit together and find a solution to this problem,” he said.

Farooq Abdullah also demanded the release of all political prisoners.

(Reporting by Saleem Iqbal Qadri)