Farooq Abdullah calls for India-Pak talks to end terrorism

Shopian, Dec 30: Former chief minister and National Conference (NC) President Farooq Abdullah Saturday said that India and Pakistan should talk to end terrorism.

“Terrorism won’t end unless both countries come to the table and talk. We have witnessed four wars in the past and they could not alter our borders,” Abdullah told reporters in south Kashmir’s Shopian district on his return from Poonch.

He said that wars had not yielded any results in the past and they would not achieve anything in the future too.

Abdullah, the Member of Parliament, said that if there were a war, the people of J&K would suffer the most.

He said that there was no doubt that “terrorism still exists in the region and those who see peace here have rose-tinted spectacles on their eyes”.

“You see earlier our Army soldiers and Police officers were killed and recently we witnessed a terror attack in Poonch,” the three-time chief minister, Abdullah said.

Expressing regret over the civilian killings in Poonch, he said, “We cannot fight terrorism by harming our people. We can only fight against terrorism with the support of the people. Such incidents mustn't be repeated.”

Abdullah said that several injured were admitted to different hospitals in critical condition.

“They were all poor and were doing menial jobs. How can they work now with their fractured bodies,” he said.

Abdullah said that it was unfortunate that no one paid attention towards these poor civilians.

He appealed to the government to provide a cash relief of Rs 5 lakh to each injured and a free ration for six months.

Abdullah said that he was happy that the Defence Minister Rajnath Singh visited the victims’ families and promised a probe.

“Rajnath Singh said that those found guilty will be given stern punishment. I hope that the investigation is completed soon and justice delivered to the victim families,” he said.