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Omar, Mehbooba join PMs for lunch

Onkar Singh in New Delhi | November 25, 2004 01:28 IST
Last Updated: November 25, 2004 08:34 IST


People's Democratic Party leader Mehbooba Mufti and the president of National Conference, Omar Abdullah, have appreciated Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's statement that there will be no redrawing of maps and that India will not be divided again.

The two leaders attended a working lunch hosted by Singh in honour of his Pakistani counterpart Shaukat Aziz at Hyderabad House in New Delhi.

Others who joined the lunch included Rashtriya Janata Dal president Lalu Prasad Yadav, Akali Dal leader Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa and some former Union ministers.

Abdullah told Aziz that Pakistan did not realise the difficulties faced by Kashmiris. "I told him that it is we the Kashmiris who are getting killed in Kashmir. We are the ones who face the terrorist violence. I asked him to stop the violence and let the people of Kashmir live in peace. I also said that there should be no passport or any other travel document for those wishing to travel to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and we should go back to the position that existed before 1953."

Asked about her conversation with Aziz, Mehbooba Mufti said she stressed on the need to start the bus service between Srinagar and Muzaffarabad as early as possible.

"I told him that this was a complex problem and it cannot be resolved overnight. This would take time, but in the meanwhile the two countries should allow the people of Kashmir on both sides to visit their relatives. This kind of confidence-building measure will help ease the situation," she said.



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