"CAUTIOUS OPTIMISM" OVER INDO-PAK TALKS, SAYS J&K CM

By P.VIJIAN

SRINAGAR, May 21 (Bernama) -- Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) chief minister Omar
Abdullah said Friday "cautious optimism" prevails over the impending
India-Pakistan talks, which would have a direct bearing on the state.
In an interview with Bernama, in Srinagar, the states' summer capital, Omar
said that while the situation was rather stable in J&K, serious political
talks, with internal and external parties, were crucial to resolve Kashmir's
60 years old saga.
"Obviously there is cautious optimism on the resumption of talks with
Pakistan. Everyone here understands that the relations between India and
Pakistan have direct and immediate effect on the state.
"Hopefully New Delhi will reopen the channels internally with separatist
leaderships and try to involve them in trying to find a solution. The dialogue
(Indo-Pak) should be at a manageable level and sustainable," said Omar,
president of the National Conference (NC) party.
Indo-Pak relations thawed after the Mumbai attack in 2008, when gunmen
staged several brutal attacks at major landmarks in India's financial capital,
where over 170 people, including foreigners were killed during the three-day
siege.
India blamed Pakistani militant operators for masterminding the attacks and
refused to pursue any talks unless the perpetrators were brought to justice,
but last month at the 16th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation
(SAARC) Summit in Thimphu, Bhutan, both Delhi and Islamabad agreed to resume
talks.
Omar said there was a serious "crisis of confidence" between India and
Pakistan, which needs to be addressed as well to move the peace agenda further.
" A lot needs to be done to build confidence in the (peace) process and
between each other, the biggest problem is the crisis of confidence, hopefully
that will be addressed," he said.
India and Pakistan had fought three wars (1947, 1965 and 1999) over the
beautiful- resource-rich Kashmir, but both bitter rivals armed with nuclear
capabilities failed to resolve the issue.
In July high level talks are slated in Islamabad to take the peace
process forward, while Indo-Pak affairs watchers and the Kashmiri people will
keenly wait for the outcome.
-- BERNAMA


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