Politics

Centre can take up Kashmir issue with Hurriyat: Farooq Abdullah

Farooq Abdullah

Kolkata | National Conference president Farooq Abdullah has said that lasting peace can be achieved in Kashmir only through dialogue and the Centre should hold talks with the Hurriyat leaders.

Referring to Army chief Bipin Rawat’s comment a day earlier on engaging with Taliban without any preconditions, the former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister on Thursday said if the Army could suggest it, then the Centre should also talk with the Hurriyat leaders to solve the Kashmir issue.

Speaking at a discussion on “J&K The Road Ahead”, organised by the Centre for Peace and Progress here, Abdullah said the leaders of Hurriyat have Indian passports and in the past, leaders such as former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee have held dialogue with them.

“The Army and use of force can never be a solution to the Kashmir crisis and lasting peace can be achieved only through dialogue,” he told the gathering which included retired senior army officers and academicians from the city.

Expressing hope that dialogue on the Kashmir issue could start after the Lok Sabha polls, Abdullah said each election has divided the country instead of uniting it.

“There is mistrust between Delhi and Kashmir and an atmosphere of hate has been created in the country,” he said.

Rawat had said that at a time when the US and Russia are reaching out to the Taliban in Afghanistan, the terror outfit should be engaged with but talks should be held without any preconditions.

The Army chief’s comments at the Raisina Dialogue, on engaging with Taliban, were the first such public remarks by a senior functionary of the government.

Former Army chief Shankar Roy Chowdhury, taking part in the discussion, raised the issue of resignation of Shah Faesal, an IAS officer who topped the civil services examination in 2009.

“We are shocked to hear about his resignation. He should not have resigned,” Roy Chowdhury said.

“One positive thing that has surfaced from Kashmir in the past few years is that youths from the region have joined the Army and taken up government jobs in large numbers,” he added.

Dear Readers,
As an independent media platform, we do not take advertisements from governments and corporate houses. It is you, our readers, who have supported us on our journey to do honest and unbiased journalism. Please contribute, so that we can continue to do the same in future.
Some error occurred

Related posts

International

Trump tours border, repeats threat to declare national emergency

TestHostEntry

Washington | US President Donald Trump on Friday appeared to be inching closer to imposing a national emergency that could allow him to bypass Congress to fund a controversial wall along the US-Mexico border that has led to a bitter political impasse and a 21-day government shutdown.

Trump has asked for USD 5.6 billion from Congress to construct the border wall, which he said is crucial to stop the flow of illegal immigrants and smuggling of drugs into the country.

The Democrats have repeatedly refused to approve any legislation to fund the wall. The standoff led to the partial government shutdown.

During his visit to the southern border state Texas on Thursday to push for the wall plan, Trump was asked if he is closer to declaring an emergency — an action that would likely face legal challenges.

“We are. I would like to look it broader. I think we could do this quickly because this is common sense and it’s not expensive. We will save the cost of the wall every year but much more than that,” the president said.

Trump had on Wednesday said that imposing a national emergency is the last option and threatened to use it if the Democrats did not allocate USD 5.7 billion funding for the wall.

The president’s inclination towards declaring a national emergency has gained momentum after he walked out of a meeting with top Democratic leaders — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Senator Chuck Schumer — on Wednesday following their refusal to allocate funding.

During an interaction with media personnel in Texas on Thursday, Trump said, “I would like to do a much broader form of immigration, and we can do immigration reform. It’ll take longer. It’s been complex. It’s been going on for 30-35 years, they’ve been talking about immigration reform. But before we do that, we have to create a barrier. That we could do very quickly.”

Contending strongly for construction of a barrier, concrete or steel, along the southern border with Mexico, the president has been claiming that illegal immigrants cause USD 250 billion drain on the American economy.

Republican leaders insist the party stands behind the president, although some Republican lawmakers have spoken out in favour of ending the shutdown.

The opposition Democrats, who are now in majority in the House of Representatives have refused to support such a move arguing that building the wall is a waste of taxpayers’ money.

Referring to his meeting with Reggie Singh, the brother of Indian-origin policeman Ronil Singh killed in California recently allegedly by an illegal immigrant during a border patro, Trump said, “Reggie, I got to know him today a little bit. This shouldn’t be happening in our country.”

“This shouldn’t be happening. And what you see of the border, that’s not as much of a problem as they (illegal immigrants) come through the border and they go out throughout our nation,” Trump said.

“As hard as we work, and as well as we’re doing nationwide on crime, a lot of it is caused by people that come in through the southern border. So, and you know, if we had the barrier, it wouldn’t happen,” he told reporters.

But the Democrats appeared to be unconvinced by Trump’s argument of national emergency.

“If and when the President does that, you’ll find out how we will react, but I’m not going to that place now. But I think the president will have problems on his own side of the aisle for exploiting the situation in a way that enhances his power. But not to go there. Let’s see what he does,” Pelosi told reporters at the Capitol Hill.

Democratic Congresswoman Grace Meng from New York on Thursday announced that a legislation would be introduced in the House of Representatives on Friday to prevent Trump from declaring a national emergency.

Some others said that they will file a lawsuit against national emergency.

Trump said he is ready for the lawsuit and asserted that he will win it.

“I am prepared for anything. The lawyers tell me, like, 100 per cent,” he told reporters.

As the government shutdown neared the end of its third week, the president left Washington with no additional negotiations scheduled with congressional leaders over a possible compromise that could both provide border security and open the government.

Related posts

News Hub