Carry forward peace process, Mufti to Pranab
KT NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, Jan 7: Ahead of travelling to Islamabad, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee here on Sunday met People's Democratic Party (PDP) leaders as part of consultations with various political parties especially Kashmiri leaders.
Earlier he had met Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and had also briefed top BJP and Left leaders about his visit and relations with Pakistan.
A PDP spokesman here said that the party patron and former chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and his daughter Mehbooba Mufti, who is also president of the party during their meeting stressed the need for carrying forward the peace process and the Confidence Building Measures (CBM).
PDP leaders asked Mukherjee to initiate discussions with Pakistan on setting up of a joint institutional mechanism in the areas of tourism, water resources, environment, culture and disaster management in both parts of Jammu and Kashmir.
They told Minister for External Affairs to raise the issue of opening up of the LoC for religious tourism.
"Free cross-LoC movement of pilgrims from various religions should be permitted," the PDP leaders told Mukherjee.
Pleading the case of Kashmir Pandits, PDP leaders said pilgrimage to Sharda temple in Neelam Vally across the LoC be permitted on annual basis.
They also demanded relaxation in issuing permits for the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad and Poonch-Rawalakote bus services, besides called for accelerating the process for opening other routes like Suchetgarh-Sialkote, Kargil-Skardu and Bandipora-Gilgit roads for men and material.
The PDP leaders said such measures would not only help build an environment for peace and prosperity in the region but would also facilitate a practical and long-lasting solution of the Kashmir issue that has plagued the development of the area for decades.
They said time has come for India and Pakistan to transform their hostilities in Kashmir into a bridge for development and prosperity of the region.
They said any positive development on the Indo-Pak peace front would not only benefit the people of Jammu and Kashmir, but the sub-continent as a whole as it would open up new opportunities for development of the region.
The PDP leaders expressed the hope that the successive visits of the External Affairs Minister and the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh to Pakistan would yield positive results as the people are pinning their hopes on the success of these extremely important visits.