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Softening of LoC only after talks: Bhat

New Delhi, May 18
The Hurriyat Conference today said softening of Line of Control (LoC) or the border in Jammu and Kashmir should be considered only after the talks on the Kashmir issue started and warned that this policy should not be construed as a permanent solution to the problem.

“When talks start, we will consider each issue with a perspective and with a purpose but we should not forget the bone of contention was the LoC which, by no stretch of imagination, can be construed as a base for a permanent and lasting solution of the Kashmir problem,” Hurriyat chairman Abdul Gani Bhat told PTI.

Stating that the proposed talks should not be held for the sake of talks, he said, “The solution has to be worked out on a principle and for a cause”.

“The line drawn as a consequence of hostilities amidst blood and cutting as it does across our souls, can never be a lasting border,” Mr Bhat said, who is at the fag end of his chairmanship of the amalgam.

The chairman was also in favour of maintaining silence over the issue saying, “Let us not do something or say something to vitiate the propitious climate that has started generating in the subcontinent.”

Asked to comment on the present situation in the subcontinent, the Hurriyat chairman expressed happiness and said, “The undercurrent of India and Pakistan is Kashmir which has to be addressed with a view to ensuring a brighter future for the people of the entire region”.

“The Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s statesman like speech followed by statements from Pakistan will surely usher in an era of peace and prosperity,” Mr Bhat said.

However, he warned that no peace could happen “in a vacuum and no prosperity” could be achieved by mere statements.

“The leadership in the subcontinent will have to rise above their traditional positions, recognise the stark realities and settle down for purposeful talks,” he said. PTI