India does not have power to 'retrieve' AJK: Farooq Abdullah

Former Indian-occupied Kashmir CM says borders will become easy to access


Web Desk December 04, 2015
File photo of former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah.

Reaffirming his assertion that Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) is a part of Pakistan and will remain with it, former chief minister of Indian-administered Kashmir Dr Farooq Abdullah said neither New Delhi nor Pakistan has the power to retrieve either sides of the divided line.

"After doing politics all these years, I do not see that we have the power to retrieve that (AJK) or they [Pakistan] can retrieve this (Indian-held Kashmir)," Abdullah, who is also the president of opposition National Conference (NC), told reporters in Srinagar on Wednesday.

AJK will remain with Pakistan, says former Indian-occupied Kashmir CM

He said that by formula AJK will "become Pakistan's region with the similar autonomy that we have” and the borders will become easy to access.

"So, we can trade, our boys can marry girls from there and their boys can marry girls from here. It will be, you know, like a joint family. That will settle many of problems of India and Pakistan,” he said.

The former minister added, "Once this is acceptable, then we will not need all the troops here and they will not need to put all the troops there. And we will have a happy situation.”

Abdullah claimed that the only "trouble" with the current solution is that the "shops of those who want the situation in Indian-held Kashmir to remain as such will close down."

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"They are surviving because of the division and their shops will close once there is a solution," he said, referring to those who criticised his remarks.

In response to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s criticism, the former union minister said the suggestion had been put forth by former Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

"Vajpayee went to Pakistan via bus and he spoke to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. He suggested to keep AJK and we will keep Indian-held Kashmir," he upheld.

BJP lawmaker and former home secretary RK Singh had denounced Abdullah’s statements, claiming, “This is a bogus statement, it is AJK which is illegally occupied by Pakistan.”

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"He was BJP PM, was he not? When he gave this suggestion then, why are they [BJP] enraged now? If they have any other solution and they think they can occupy that [AJK] by military might, why are they not doing that then?" Abdullah asked.

Further, Abdullah said his party would support any other solution which could help in creating good relations between India and Pakistan.

"I believe if there is any other solution which can create good relations among India and Pakistan and resolve the Kashmir issue, National Conference has no problem in accepting that. I have said this earlier several years ago and I will continue saying this," he said.

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During his address last week, Abdullah said that war is not the solution and only lives are lost as a result of it. "Dialogue is the only solution. There is no other solution. We have had so many wars, did that solve our problems? Is there any other way by which you think there will be a solution. I do not see it," he said.

This article originally appeared on NDTV.

COMMENTS (28)

s | 8 years ago | Reply The former chief minister of Indian-occupied Kashmir Dr. Farooq Abdullah, who happens to be the president of opposition National Conference,:said to reporters in Srinagar “After doing politics all these years, I do not see that we have the power to retrieve that (AJK) or they [Pakistan] can retrieve this (Indian-held Kashmir).” His proposed that solution for the problem was for Indian and Pakistani-held Kashmir to have autonomous status, with easy trade relations and social inter-action. And he suggested that with the acceptance of the proposed solution by India and Paksistan, problems of both India and Pakistan will disappear to a large extent, and there will be no need to keep heavy troop concentrations in the region. Farooq Abdullah stated that this sort of solution was also proposed by Indian prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to Nawaz Sharif, and I believe Pervez Musharraf’s Foreign Minister Khurshid Qasuri was negotiating with India along the same lines. Obviously, cool thinking makes one feel that something on these lines is the only possible solution. Unfortunately, over-patriotic hot-heads on both sides of the border prevent this from happening, resulting in the continuation of the suffering of Muslims in Indian-occupied Kashmir. So, these over-patriotic people are being no ones friend, neither of Kashmiris in Indian-held Kashmir, nor of India and Pakistan. Perhaps the local and international adverse fallout of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s aggressive posture towards Pakistan, and Muslims generally, has made him realize his mistake and he may be a bit more open and welcoming, or at least less hostile towards Pakistan. However, the prospects of Pakistan meeting Modi half-way do not seem to be all that bright because in exchange for being left alone to carry on as he pleased, Nawaz Sharif seems to have sub-contracted foreign affairs to a party which neither has the qualification and training, nor the inclination to deal with such a matter and to agree to a solution which, though admittedly not ideal, is perhaps the only practical solution to the problem, non-solution which permanently negates sensible, normal relations with India, and creates additional problems for Pakistan in Balochistan and elsewhere. Karachi
ask | 8 years ago | Reply @SHAH: Whatever China wanted of J&K is already with her. post-Afghanistan US would be wary of risks in South Asia. And without preparing itseflf legally , diplomatically and militarily India will not tinker with 370 to make it irrelevant.
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