“The army officer has raked up a controversy and that controversy is being investigated. If he has been awarded for doing a bad act that is not right”
Srinagar: China and Pakistan have arrived at trade agreements and have opened (many) roads, said a top leader of ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and alliance partner of BJP in J&K government on Tuesday.
Apparently referring to Belt and Road Initiative of China, Nizamuddin Bhat said, “I think that is an experience which India should imitate.”
Nizamuddin Bhat
Bhat, a senior PDP member, was addressing a seminar in Srinagar.
Belt and Road Initiative (B&R) is a development strategy proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping that focuses on connectivity and cooperation between Eurasian countries, primarily the People’s Republic of China, the land-based “Silk Road Economic Belt” (SREB) and the oceangoing “Maritime Silk Road” (MSR).
The B&R has declared China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) as its flagship program, which has US $52 billion investment by China in Pakistan, involving a wide network of roads, railways and projects in energy sector.
“Opening of every route, whether that goes to Gilgit… Baltistan (or) that goes to Central Asia… opening of shrines everywhere (for) religious harmony, brotherhood, amity, (and) people to people dialogue; such initiatives will solve our problems,” Bhat said addressing the seminar titled J&K: The Road Ahead, organised by Centre for Peace and Progress.
“Mufti Muhammad Sayeed (former CM and PDP patron) and Atal Bihari Vajpayee (former Prime Minister of India) had shown a way (in resolving Kashmir) from 2002 and 2005,” Bhat added.
Bhat claimed that (then) Pakistan government was “also on the same page”.
“There was friendship between India and Pakistan,” he said. “There was public participation at local level (and) there was peace prevailing (in J&K).”
Supporting his claim, the PDP Secretary General said, “There was trade going on; there was notional integration between the divided people; there was a will to go forward and resolve Kashmir and that had created an atmosphere and that has to be repeated.”
He further said that only seminars and conferences “won’t resolve it”.
“Government of India is also trying to have peace first and take steps forward,” he said. “If Prime Minister takes implementation of Agenda of Alliance (AoA) as his personal responsibility, shows his will, things will drastically improve,” he asserted.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi greeting late Muhammad Sayeed after the latter took oath as Chief Minister of J&K on March Ist 2015.
“Kashmir will show drastic improvement and there will be conducive atmosphere for anything to do,” he added.
AoA is an agreement between PDP and right wing BJP signed in 2015 after which the two parties formed coalition government in J&K. The AoA promises to initiate dialogue with Pakistan and stakeholders in Kashmir to solve the problems confronting J&K.
“We sincerely believe that Kashmir has been suffering,” Bhat said adding, “we (PDP) have sincere faith that Prime Minister Modi will use his political will to take initiatives which have been promised to us and we will be available to do governance with good things and get people relief… wherefrom we can move forward.”
On Indian Army Chief awarding Major Nitin Leetal Gogoi who used a Kashmir weaver as human shield, the PDP office bearer said, “The army officer has raked up a controversy and that controversy is being investigated. If he has been awarded for doing a bad act that is not right.”
