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Kashmir is Political Issue: Pro-India Leader

By Fayaz Wani

Srinagar, March 10: The pro-Indian Kashmiri leader and former chief minister of Kashmir, Farooq Abdullah has claimed that the Kashmir dispute is a political issue and can be solved politically.

Addressing media here, the pro-Indian Kashmiri leader, Farooq Abdullah said that Kashmir is not a religious issue. "It is a political issue and can be solved politically."

He, however, said that the Kashmir dispute cannot be solved by holding foreign secretary level talks between India and Pakistan. "India and Pakistan have to find a political solution to resolve the Kashmir dispute, which has been lingering for the past 60 years," he said.

It is pertinent to mention here that India and Pakistan have fought three wars on wresting control of Kashmir and were close to nuclear war in 1998.

The pro-Indian Kashmiri leader welcomed the statement of Pakistan Peoples Party co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari's statement regarding better relations between India and Pakistan. He said, however, that the Kashmir issue cannot be put in cold storage. "The people of Kashmir will never favour the cold storage of Kashmir. They and the leaders of Kashmir want immediate resolution of Kashmir," he added.

Fayaz Wani reports on life in Srinagar, Kashmir.