Accept Imran Khan’s call for India-Pak talks, Mehbooba urges PM Modi
Accept Imran Khan’s call for India-Pak talks, Mehbooba urges PM Modi Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to respond positively to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chief Imran Khan’s overtures on Kashmir. “I want to tell Prime Minister Narendra Modi that a new government is forming in Pakistan. He (Imran Khan) has offered India the hand of friendship. He has talked about dialogue and you should respond positively to that,” the former chief minister said in her address on the 19th raising day of the PDP in Srinagar. Mufti’s call came a day after separatist leaders welcomed Khan’s speech suggesting a resolution to the Kashmir issue through dialogue. “Elections keep on coming. You may remember how (Atal Bihari) Vajpayeeji had offered his hand of friendship to Pakistan before the 2004 elections, and announced ceasefire on the borders. That is the magnanimity of a leader. A big leader does not think about elections, he thinks about the people,” she added. “The name of the prime minister who finds a solution to the Kashmir issue within the ambit of humanity and stops bloodshed here while improving relations with Pakistan will be etched in history in golden letters. My request is that he (Modi) use this occasion and respond positively to the initiative of friendship from Imran Khan,” she said. Khan, who looks set to become the next Pakistan prime minister, called Kashmir the biggest hurdle in ties between the two countries. He offered to take “two steps if India takes one”, stating that the issue should be resolved on the negotiating table. “Kashmir is the core issue between India and Pakistan, and the two countries should resolve it through dialogue,” said hardline Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Geelani in a statement. Hailing Khan for his “clear” Kashmir policy, he said: “Now it is time for India to reciprocate. India should come clear on Pakistan’s offer.” -PTC News
