Big relief for Omar as Kashmir no more Pak poll plank
21 May 2013 1:35 PM IST
Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah is a relieved man as much to his respite, Kashmir did not dominate the agenda of the recently concluded Pakistan parliamentary polls. While interacting with journalists on Monday morning at the Foreign Correspondents Club in the national capital, Abdullah said, ‘Earlier Kashmir was a strident issue in the election campaigns in Pakistan, while this time, for various internal and domestic reasons, Kashmir was not taken up as much of a concern.’
He went on to say, ‘Having normal relations with India was a bigger issue than Kashmir, which works well for the region. Anything which is good for the relationship between India and Pakistan is good for Jammu and Kashmir. More than any other state in India, Jammu and Kashmir has benefited from good relations between the two countries but we have also suffered the most when the relationship went bad.’
‘Some of the statements that the prime minister-designate Nawaz Sharif has made after the elections might also work well for us, especially the fact that he wants to resume the dialogue process. Moreover, he took the first step by inviting Manmohan Singh to Pakistan and our PM was quick to reciprocate the warm gesture. Also, he talked about reviving the incomplete peace process which was interrupted by the Kargil war. These are all points that go well for Jammu and Kashmir.
While his stated position sounds good, we have to see how they actually play out over the next couple of years,’ added Abdullah.
‘I don’t expect much in the next year or so because Pakistan has come out of an election cycle we are going into one. This is the last year for the UPA-II government. So for any new developments on the Jammu and Kashmir front would be perhaps expecting too much, but at least if we can continue to talk to each other some smaller issues can be taken care of,’ said Abdullah.
Speaking on the effect that China’s incursion had on the state’s tourism, the chief minister said, ‘It is no secret that the tourism in Ladakh has been affected because of the reports about the incursion. We need good relations between the two countries.’
He went on to say, ‘Having normal relations with India was a bigger issue than Kashmir, which works well for the region. Anything which is good for the relationship between India and Pakistan is good for Jammu and Kashmir. More than any other state in India, Jammu and Kashmir has benefited from good relations between the two countries but we have also suffered the most when the relationship went bad.’
‘Some of the statements that the prime minister-designate Nawaz Sharif has made after the elections might also work well for us, especially the fact that he wants to resume the dialogue process. Moreover, he took the first step by inviting Manmohan Singh to Pakistan and our PM was quick to reciprocate the warm gesture. Also, he talked about reviving the incomplete peace process which was interrupted by the Kargil war. These are all points that go well for Jammu and Kashmir.
While his stated position sounds good, we have to see how they actually play out over the next couple of years,’ added Abdullah.
‘I don’t expect much in the next year or so because Pakistan has come out of an election cycle we are going into one. This is the last year for the UPA-II government. So for any new developments on the Jammu and Kashmir front would be perhaps expecting too much, but at least if we can continue to talk to each other some smaller issues can be taken care of,’ said Abdullah.
Speaking on the effect that China’s incursion had on the state’s tourism, the chief minister said, ‘It is no secret that the tourism in Ladakh has been affected because of the reports about the incursion. We need good relations between the two countries.’
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