Dr Farooq pitches for Indo-Pak talks

Srinagar, June 12:  National Conference Chief Dr Farooq Abdullah has pitched for resuming talks with Pakistan, saying the new government in Pakistan "is willing to have a peaceful atmosphere with us" and India should "open the door to them".

In an interview with ANI, Farooq Abdullah, a former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister, also pitched for "reviving" the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).

"We still have problems with our neighbour. These problems will not be solved by military action... Unless we talk to our neighbours, we cannot solve it. The terrorists are coming through borders, and they will continue coming. Whichever government will be there tomorrow, will have to face the same thing... We need to come out of these situations... We have a major Yatra coming (Amarnath Yatra). Any small incident that might take place in that will be blown up in the rest of the country. We Kashmiris are not responsible for these things," Abdullah said.

He was responding to a query on the terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir.

"The government in Pakistan, I think they are wanting to have a peaceful atmosphere with us. Let's open the door to them. And let us revive SAARC. SAARC was made for the good of this entire area," he said. Abdullah said military action cannot solve problems and referred to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and the war between Israel and Hamas.