ID :
38118
Tue, 12/30/2008 - 19:56
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/38118
The shortlink copeid
CONGRESS PARTNERS NC TO RULE KASHMIR By P.Vijian
NEW DELHI, Dec 30 (Bernama) -- The Congress party has formed an alliance with the Omar Abdullah-led National Conference (NC) party, after the latter won the highest number of seats in the recent state assembly elections, to rule Jammu and Kashmir (J&K).
A pragmatic leader, Omar, president of NC, who steered his party to a grand
victory in one of the most successful and peaceful polls in the
Indian-administered Kashmir, will become the youngest chief minister of J&K at
the age of 38.
"I am looking forward to working closely with Congress to fulfil the high
expectations of the people. I will head the government and the rest of the
modalities will be finalised later," Omar told reporters in Delhi, after he was
endorsed as the head of the new government of J&K.
In the seven-phase election, which ended last week, NC won 28 seats and
Congress wrested 17, sufficient to form a simple majority in the 87-member
assembly. The counting was held last Sunday.
Omar hails from a politically rooted Kashmiri family. His father, Farooq
Abdullah, and his grandfather, Sheikh Abdullah, were all former chief ministers
of J&K.
For the last 18 years, the beautiful Kashmir had been rattled by separatist
violence and peace remained elusive for nearly 10 million Kashmir people.
Since 1989, the Indian government had been battling against separatist
insurgency, where more than 40,000 people had lost their lives.
After the partition in 1947, when the British divided India and Pakistan,
both nuclear-armed neighbours had fought two wars over Kashmir.
Despite calls by separatist leaders to boycott the latest election, more
than 60 per cent voters turned out, clearly indicating that the Muslim-majority
Kashmiri people wanted peace and progress, which had bypassed their region for
decades.
-- BERNAMA
A pragmatic leader, Omar, president of NC, who steered his party to a grand
victory in one of the most successful and peaceful polls in the
Indian-administered Kashmir, will become the youngest chief minister of J&K at
the age of 38.
"I am looking forward to working closely with Congress to fulfil the high
expectations of the people. I will head the government and the rest of the
modalities will be finalised later," Omar told reporters in Delhi, after he was
endorsed as the head of the new government of J&K.
In the seven-phase election, which ended last week, NC won 28 seats and
Congress wrested 17, sufficient to form a simple majority in the 87-member
assembly. The counting was held last Sunday.
Omar hails from a politically rooted Kashmiri family. His father, Farooq
Abdullah, and his grandfather, Sheikh Abdullah, were all former chief ministers
of J&K.
For the last 18 years, the beautiful Kashmir had been rattled by separatist
violence and peace remained elusive for nearly 10 million Kashmir people.
Since 1989, the Indian government had been battling against separatist
insurgency, where more than 40,000 people had lost their lives.
After the partition in 1947, when the British divided India and Pakistan,
both nuclear-armed neighbours had fought two wars over Kashmir.
Despite calls by separatist leaders to boycott the latest election, more
than 60 per cent voters turned out, clearly indicating that the Muslim-majority
Kashmiri people wanted peace and progress, which had bypassed their region for
decades.
-- BERNAMA
