Farooq Abdullah pitches for adopting European Union model

Former Union minister and National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah on Sunday made a strong pitch for emulating the European Union (EU) model in South Asia to make it a heaven of peace, prosperity and security. He also called for a sustained India-Pakistan dialogue to address all issues that have caused straining of relations between the neighbours.

Strongly batting for good neighbourly relations between India and other countries in the region, he said there is urgent need of carving out a situation where people can move around freely like EU. He asked, “If EU can do it, why not India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and other neighbouring countries ”

Mr Abdullah in his key note address at a day-long conference held at Nagrota on the outskirts of Jammu said he hopes the South Asian nations would eschew myopic tendencies and hostilities and work for an enabling environment for generations to lead a peaceful and dignified life.

“How long shall the hostilities of past cast dark shadow on present and future in a fast changing global scenario”, he asked, asserting the people of this continent too have a right to grow in free and fearless environment. He said the era of mistrust and suspicion has retarded growth of sub-continent countries and this disgusting situation needs to end, sooner the better. The conference was organised by Bangladesh Bharat Pakistan Peace Forum (BBPPF) on the importance of peace and unity initiatives between tri-nations.

Mr Abdullah, who has served as chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir thrice, called for a sustained India-Pakistan dialogue, saying hostility between the two nations has impacted peace and tranquillity in the Himalayan state. He said the state would be the biggest beneficiary of peace in the region as it has witnessed a horrified saga of instability and bloodshed due to border tensions and the cult of militancy.

He asserted the two nations cannot wish each other away and, therefore, New Delhi and Islamabad must seriously and purposefully get engaged to take the peace initiative forward. He hoped that the two countries will take concrete measures to continue the dialogue process for lasting peace, saying confrontations had no place in bilateral relations.

Mr Abdullah squarely blamed Western powers for promoting terror scourge and said the world at large has suffered due to it hugely.

Reiterating his ‘unflinching commitment’ to secularism, he said this has been cornerstone of the NC policies, which “hugely strengthened the bonds between the people of Jammu and Kashmir’s three distant regions-the Valley, Jammu and Ladakh. He said unity in diversity has been biggest strength of the State and cautioned people against those who wanted to disturb this time-tested ethos. “National Conference will stand like a rock against those who will even think of polluting the composite culture of Jammu and Kashmir,” he pledged.

Complimenting the people of Jammu and Kashmir for keeping the flame of secularism aloft during most testing times, he said this cherished ideal alone can lead the State to peace, progress and development. While emphasising the need for strengthening this spirit, he called for channelising the energies of youth towards positive pursuits. “This can be achieved only when the young people are provided vistas of opportunities to excel in academics, pursue their avocations in a peaceful atmosphere and by generating avenues of jobs for them,” he said.