"Talk About Dialogue With Pakistan": Mehbooba Mufti To Centre

Peoples Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti on Monday said that if India has to move forward and prosper, it should take the path of dialogue and reconciliation with Pakistan.

Speaking at an event organised at Sher-e-Kashmir Park in Srinagar to mark the party's 26th foundation day, Ms Mufti asserted that people of Jammu and Kashmir want peace with dignity and they will "interfere" in the country's foreign policy when it comes to Pakistan.

She appealed to the Centre to view and listen to the people of Jammu and Kashmir "with your hearts" and unless they do so, the India-Pakistan "issue will not get resolved".

"I want to tell the Government of India that the people of Jammu and Kashmir are not your enemies. We want peace with dignity. We want peace through friendship, not war," Ms Mufti said, addressing party workers.

"You sent delegations across the world to talk about what happened during Operation Sindoor, in Pahalgam, and what is happening in 'Kashmir'. It is Kashmir that faced hardships during the conflict. So if a Kashmiri does not demand dialogue with Pakistan, who else will?" Ms Mufti asked.

Ms Mufti asked the Central government to take the path of reconciliation.

"If our country has to move forward, then stop ranting about war and talk about dialogue (with Pakistan). If you want to prove your mettle in the world and overcome China, then enter a dialogue and take the path of reconciliation," she said.

Asserting that Jammu and Kashmir has been a huge challenge for all the prime ministers until now, Ms Mufti said she is not reluctant to say that if Prime Minister Narendra Modi so wills, "he can resolve the Kashmir issue because he has been elected by 120 crore people".

Referring to the upcoming Asia Cup cricket tournament in the UAE, the former chief minister of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir said that sports should not be mixed with politics.

"I am happy that India has decided to participate in the Asia Cup even as everyone is saying they should not. Let the sports be," she said.

Ms Mufti said whenever the people of Jammu and Kashmir talk about peace and dialogue with Pakistan, they are told not to interfere in the country's foreign policy.

"I want to tell Delhi what India's foreign policy is without Jammu and Kashmir. We had war, which caused destruction. I want to tell the government that we will interfere in the foreign policy and ask you to become the Big Brother because your war is fought in Jammu and Kashmir," she said.

The PDP chief also asked the government to desist from a "weapons race" with Pakistan and focus on the country's pressing issues.

"There is another war now -- whether India buys more weapons or Pakistan," she claimed.

"See China, see its GDP and where it has reached. India has more population and more youth than China, but we are far behind. It is not me who is saying this, our external affairs minister has stated that we cannot compete with China," Ms Mufti said.

"Meanwhile, Pakistan is living on loans. It is behind Bangladesh, has less GDP and more unemployment. In our country, we provide free ration to 80 crore people. Our schools do not have fans or proper buildings, our hospitals do not have doctors, but we have to hoard the latest weapons and missiles because we have to go to war," she said.

Ms Mufti, who congratulated her party workers on the foundation day, said that PDP's name is synonymous with "peace with dignity".

"PDP is the need of the hour. Its other name is 'Aman ki baat izat ke saath' (peace with dignity). PDP founder Mufti Mohammad Sayeed was the only leader from Kashmir who talked about peace. He wanted friendship and not war. He wanted India to become the Big Brother and have friendly relations with its neighbours," she said. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)