NO PEACE SOLUTION, KASHMIR REGRESSES, SAYS LEADER

By P.VIJIAN

SRINAGAR, May 17 (Bernama) -- With no solution in sight to resolve the
20-year old Kashmir conflict, the region will plunge further into a political
quagmire, thus dragging it into economic wilderness as the world progresses,
warned an opposition leader.

The People's Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti said the
resources-rich and strategically located Kashmir, had suffered enough violence
and economic backwardness, due to political wrangling and even now the will to
resolve the long drawn dispute was conspicuously absent.

"There is confusion in Kashmir since the Mumbai attack (Nov, 2008), there
had been a complete stand still (India and Pakistan peace talks). There is not a
single option to solve the problem," Mahbooba told Bernama in an interview in
Srinagar on Sunday.

Since 1989, militancy reigned the picturesque Kashmir, turning it into a
major flashpoint in the world, while India and Pakistan, both bitterly locked in
the feud, have failed to reach a consensus.

At least 50,000 people were reported to have lost their lives in the violent
conflict in the valley, while thousands were displaced from their homes, during
clashes between militants and Indian security forces -- though militancy had
abated in recent times.

The PDP propagates "self-rule" for Kashmir and argues that it would be the
only practical way to end the discord, but political elites on all sides are
unlikely to pander to it's proposal, as plenty of political interests are at
stake.

"What we need is a very holistic, a composite solution for the people of
Kashmir. It is a very divergent region in terms of social, religion, language
and even climate.

"We need political and economic empowerment to move along with the
globalised world. All impediments have to be removed," added Mehbooba, the
feisty daughter of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, former chief minister of Jammu and
Kashmir (J&K).

With nearly 70 percent Muslims, the once princely state of J&K, is the only
Muslim majority state in India, with a separate constitution and even has its
own flag.

--BERNAMA