Indo-Pak talks victory of JK People, says Mufti

Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed today welcomed the visit of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to Pakistan and said J&K would be the principal beneficiary of the thaw between the two neighbouring countries.
The Chief Minister hoped that the political uncertainty would come to an end and called upon those who had picked up guns to eschew violence, which hampered the development of Jammu and Kashmir. “I want to change the destiny of the people of my state who have borne the brunt of violence for nearly two-and-a-half decades,” Mufti observed.He was addressing a gathering after laying the foundation stone of a bridge over the Brungi nullah in Anantnag district today.
Referring to the resumption of the bilateral talks between New Delhi and Islamabad, Mufti Sayeed said the brief meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif on the sidelines of the Paris Climate Change Summit had prepared the ground for the NSA-level talks and the subsequent visit of Sushma Swaraj to Pakistan. He said during the Prime Minister’s public rally in Srinagar last month, he had favoured holding of talks between the two neighbours to usher in an era of peace and stability.
“This (talks) is a victory of the people of J&K who have always aspired for friendly relations between India and Pakistan. I hope this new phase of reconciliation will bear positive results for all of us,” he said, while praising the maturity displayed by the leaders of both countries to engage in bilateral talks.
Describing the cross-LoC travel and trade as a historic breakthrough between India and Pakistan, the Chief Minister highlighted the need to take the ‘peace initiative’ to the next level by opening more trade and travel points across the state. Mufti asked youth to shun the path of violence, saying the gun has yielded nothing except maligning the message of peace of Islam. He said the recent mass shooting incident in California, in which 14 people were killed, had raised levels of intolerance against Muslims.