Srinagar: Moderate Hurriyat Conference today hit out at National Conference leader Omar Abdullah for advocating conversion of Line of Control between India and Pakistan into a permanent border, saying he was running away from the historical and geographical reality of the issue.
“Omar's statement on conversion of LoC into international border is a deliberate shying away from the political and geographical reality and the historic disputed nature of Jammu and Kashmir,” Hurriyat said in a statement here. “If converting LoC into international border had been a solution, Kashmir issue would have been resolved long back,” the statement said.
It also said that Kashmir issue was not a territorial or regional dispute but concerned the political future of 1.25 crore people.
In his keynote address at ‘The Kashmir Conclave' organised by Georgetown University's student group India Dialogue, Omar said,”This (Kashmir) issue cannot be resolved by military might but only through meaningful and result-oriented talks.”
“For any solution to work, we first have to recognise that there can be no further transfer of territory between either of the two countries, which means you take the Line of Control and recognise it as an (international) border,” the former JK chief minister said.
Omar acknowledged that his solution would be a tough sell in the two countries as there are vested interests in the two capitals that want the Kashmir problem to continue.
He argued this is the most viable solution to the Kashmir problem; given that India itself has recognised this Line of Control even there have been reasons not to do so.
