Manmohan led Cong group, Mehbooba reject Farooq's ‘third-party intervention’

Former Chief Minister and Member Parliament, Dr Farooq Abdullah has stirred the hornet's nest with his suggestion of seeking "third party's help" to resolve the Kashmir issue, as a high-level policy-planning group of Congress Party for Jammu and Kashmir today outrightly rejected the proposal of the senior NC leader.
The group headed by former Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh today said that the issue needs to be settled "only bilaterally."
Farooq Abdullah contested from Srinagar Lok Sabha seat during the recently held by-poll in coalition with Congress Party to get elected as the Member Parliament.
The senior Abdullah had on yesterday told reporters outside the Parliament that India should approach China and US to facilitate the dialogue process between India and Pakistan for a final solution to the Kashmir problem.
The proposal of Farooq Abdullah was rejected not only by the ruling NDA government but opposition Congress party.
Congress Vice-President, Rahul Gandhi had also rejected Farooq's assertion saying, "Kashmir is India and India is Kashmir."
Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti also dismissed Farooq's suggestions saying, "India and Pakistan have to resolve the matter bilaterally."
She hit out at National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah for suggesting mediation by the United States, asking him whether he wanted the situation in Kashmir to be similar to what it was in countries like Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq where the US had intervened.
"Be it America or China, they should mind their own business. Wherever America intervened, you see (the situation in) Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq.
"China has its own vexing issue in Tibet. So, I think we have a map here which is that we, India and Pakistan, have to talk even after war. We have to talk bilaterally and what can America, Turkey or England do with us?" Mehbooba told reporters at Anantnag in south Kashmir.
The chief minister was responding to a question on Member of Parliament Farooq Abdullah's suggestion yesterday said India should take the help of "friends" to resolve the issue.
"They have played spoilsport in major issues of the world. See what they have made up of Syria, see the situation of Afghanistan and Iraq. God forbid, does Farooq (Abdullah) want our situation similar to them? Or he wants our state to prosper?" the chief minister asked.
She said both India and Pakistan have to respect the agreements between the two countries to end the hostilities.
"We should take forward Shimla and Lahore agreements the way our elder leaders like (former PM) Indira Gandhi and (former PM Atal Bihari) Vajpayee did.
"Everyday our soldiers and people die on border and the same happens (in Pakistan) as well. Some solution should come out for (ending) this and the solution will come only then when we, both the countries, respect these agreements," she said.
The CM said that dialogue is imperative as the two countries face pressing development issues.
"We have to sit together and end poverty, provide our people with electricity, water and employment. India and Pakistan have to talk to each other," she said.
Meanwhile, the Congress group blamed the central and state governments for the continued killings there and hit out at them for "failing to handle the situation effectively".
The Congress leadership had formed a policy planning group for Jammu and Kashmir to take forward the peace initiative in the state.
The group headed by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today met and discussed the prevailing situation in the state and expressed "deep anguish" over the developments in Kashmir.
Members of the group include former Union minister P Chidambaram, former J-K chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, Karan Singh and AICC general secretary in-charge of Jammu and Kashmir Ambika Soni. J-K Congress chief Ghulam Ahmed Mir and the CLP leader in state assembly are also part of the group.
The Congress has been critical of the Centre as well as the PDP-BJP coalition government over the handling of the Kashmir situation since last year's unrest triggered by the killing of Hizbul terrorist Burhan Wani in an encounter with security forces.
"The group met and discussed in-depth the prevailing situation in Kashmir and was very anguished at the continued killings in the Valley.
"The governments, both at the state and the centre, have not been able to deal with the situation in an effective way and have not been able to resolve it despite loud pronouncements. There is nothing seen on the ground. Killings are taking place on a daily basis," Soni said.
The group also discussed the initiatives taken by the UPA government and said the present NDA government has "negated and reversed" all of those.
Sources said the group will discuss ways and means to reach out to various groups and sections in Jammu and Kashmir and hold discussions with them to help improve the situation there.
Manmohan Singh is likely to submit a report on what action should be taken in future in Kashmir, they said, adding the group will study and assess the ground situation and take initiatives for restoring normalcy to the state.