Mehbooba backs RSS leader Hosabale’s call for India-Pakistan people-to-people engagement

Mehbooba Mufti on Sunday endorsed recent remarks by RSS leader Dattatreya Hosabale advocating greater people-to-people engagement between India and Pakistan, saying dialogue remains the only path towards resolving the Kashmir issue.

Addressing a party workers’ convention in Srinagar, the Peoples Democratic Party president said peace and reconciliation in Jammu and Kashmir could only emerge through talks within the constitutional framework.

“The solution to Kashmir lies in dialogue and within the framework of the Constitution. Whatever we have to achieve needs to be done from Delhi and here. We believe in engagement and talks. We seek peace with dignity,” Mehbooba said.

‘Open roads to Pakistan, Central Asia’

The former chief minister welcomed Hosabale’s recent statement calling for civil society-led engagement with Pakistan after military and political channels lost credibility.

In an interview to PTI Videos earlier, the RSS leader had said people-to-people contact was important because India and Pakistan shared cultural ties and had once been “one nation”.

Mehbooba said the position echoed the long-held vision of PDP founder Mufti Mohammad Sayeed.

“What Hosabale has said now is what Mufti Mohammad Sayeed advocated till his last breath. Open our roads leading to the other side of Kashmir… Pakistan, China and Central Asia,” she said.

She urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to initiate dialogue with the people of Jammu and Kashmir and involve Pakistan in efforts to resolve the issue.

“If Modi ji wants to carve a name for himself, he should resolve the Kashmir issue and involve Pakistan in the process,” she said.

Mehbooba recalls Modi’s Lahore visit

Mehbooba noted that Modi had earlier attempted outreach towards Pakistan, referring to his 2015 visit to Lahore, but said such efforts were derailed by subsequent militant attacks.

“I am not saying Narendra Modi has done nothing. He visited Lahore in 2016, but it was followed by the Pathankot attack. Pakistan will have to respond positively to any outreach from India,” she said.

The PDP leader also said Delhi must listen to the voices of Kashmiris and stressed that development alone could not resolve the region’s political problems.

“Even if we build roads of gold and bridges of silver, they will be of no use if the Kashmir issue is not resolved,” she quoted Mufti Mohammad Sayeed as saying.

Naravane also backed dialogue

Former Army chief M.M. Naravane had also backed Hosabale’s remarks earlier this week, saying people-to-people ties between India and Pakistan remained important.

“The common man has nothing to do with politics. When there is friendship between two persons, there will also be friendship between two nations,” Naravane had said.

Mehbooba also called for the release of political detainees ahead of Eid, describing it as an important confidence-building measure that could help foster reconciliation in Kashmir.