Srinagar: Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief and former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti has greeted Narendra Modi on opening up of the Kartarpur corridor and has sought the opening of a road link to Sharada Peeth, a Hindu shrine, in Pakistan administered Kashmir.
Mehbooba, in a letter to the Modi, added that “though it will be a measure specific to the Pandit community but undoubtedly it would be welcomed by every citizen of Jammu and Kashmir.”
“I greet you on the opening up of Kartarpur corridor with Pakistan to facilitate the Sikh pilgrims visit to holy places in that country and hope it would be a new leaf in the painful history of India-Pakistan relations and will be a first step towards rediscovering avenues of peace and prosperity.”
Saying that the PDP has always considered people to people contact between India and Pakistan as an important Confidence Building Measure (CBM) and has been repeatedly advocating reopening of traditional routes connecting India through Jammu and Kashmir with the world around it, Mehbooba told Modi.
Wrote to PM @narendramodi for opening of Sharda Peeth route for facilitating the Pandit community. I hope like Kartarpur, this too will be considered for better peace & prosperity in the region.
— Mehbooba Mufti (@MehboobaMufti) December 1, 2018
The letter added, “The initiatives taken by government of India by former Prime Ministers have resulted in opening of Muzafarabad and Rawalakot roads, adding that “there potential is yet to be realized. The opening of Kartarpur corridor has granted yet another window of opportunity.”
Saying that Sharada Peeth in Pakistan Administered Kashmir is an outstanding relic of Kashmir’s glowing history, PDP chief said, “Though it connects the people here with their cultural and intellectual routes, for the Kashmir Pandits it is an important place of pilgrimage which was frequented by them till independence. Their urge to open it to pilgrimage has been projected ever since Srinagar-Muzafarabad road. Kartarpur has encouraged the Pandit community to see a possibility of the pilgrimage to Sharada Peeth in the same spirit.”
After the opening of Kartarpur Corridor, Mehbooba had said that, India and Pakistan should facilitate the opening of Sharda Peeth pilgrimage for Kashmiris.
Kartarpur is a great example of how religion can bring people together instead of dividing them. It is a path envisioned by PDP founder Mufti Sb to end the turmoil in Kashmir. #SelfRule
After Kartarpur, Delhi and Pakistan must facilitate Sharda Peeth pilgrimage for kashmiris .— Mehbooba Mufti (@MehboobaMufti) November 28, 2018
(With inputs from KNS)
