Time ripe to end hostility in the region: NC to India, Pakistan

Srinagar: Expressing concern over the fresh ceasefire violations in Samba sector of Jammu and Kashmir, National Conference today asked the prime ministers of India and Pakistan to start a composite dialogue saying the “time was ripe” to end the hostility in the region. “The frequent border skirmishes are childish exercises which have never yielded anything other than killing the innocents on both sides of the border. The brunt of the border firing has to be ultimately faced by the people living in the border areas who are compelled to leave their homes,” NC general secretary Ali Mohammad Sagar said after a party meeting in Srinagar.[caption id=“attachment_1768657” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. Reuters[/caption] Sagar condemned the fresh firing between the armies of India and Pakistan in the Samba sector in Jammu region. The National Conference leader urged the prime ministers of India and Pakistan to discuss issues on table saying that the “time is ripe” for the neighbours end the hostility in the region. “The hostility between India and Pakistan should be removed and both the countries should sit across the table and resolve their differences,” he said. “People across the region have a strong yearning for peace and progress. But unfortunately due to the hostility between the two neighbours, people living in border areas have to move out of their homes and leave their livestock and many other precious things behind, which is the only source of their income,” he added. He said people of Jammu and Kashmir are the worst sufferers of the hostility between India and Pakistan that is continuing since many decades now and the leadership of both the countries should show empathy towards people of state. “Both the countries need to understand that we are the basic sufferers of the conflict between the two neighbours and any attempt made by the two to end hostility will be warmly welcomed by the National Conference which has been calling for the resolution of all long-pending issues,” he said. Sagar said both the countries, putting behind the differences of the past, should now move ahead and stop blaming each other which has created bitterness in the relations among two neighbours. “The people of Jammu and Kashmir have to bear the brunt of any aggression between Delhi and Islamabad and it’s the need of hour that the two countries should display political wisdom by making efforts to resolve all outstanding issues,” he said. Sagar said the two countries should resume the stalled dialogue process for resolving the issues. PTI