SrinagarPublic Works Minister and the government spokesman Naeem Akhtar on Friday asked the Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL) to become a part of an all-party delegation which is going to Delhi to push for Ramadhan ceasefire. Ally in ruling BJP has already rejected the Chief Minister Mehbooba Muftis decision.
The proposal on ceasefire is in public domain and we all welcome the statements on ceasefire from people of all shades and political ideologies. Let JRL also join the All Party delegation to be sent to Delhi for dialogue on ceasefire and Pakistan must also respond to the ceasefire proposal keeping in view the feelings of Kashmiris, local news agency KNS quoted Akhtar as having said.
Akhtar, according to the report, asked Pakistan to respond to the feelings of Kashmiris for peace and reconciliation.
If Vajpayee and Musharraf could walk on the path of peace and ceasefire why cant the present leaders in India and Pakistan follow the suit to respect the feelings of Kashmiris, he asked.
Ruling partners in government, BJP on Thursday opposed Chief Ministers call for a unilateral ceasefire during the month of Ramadan till completion of the Amarnath Yatra, claiming such a step was not at all in “national interest”. Earlier PDP snubbed Chief Minister on many counts including her demand for removal of AFSPA.
The party’s state unit said militants were demoralised due to Army action and a unilateral ceasefire would ease pressure and allow them to re-energise.
Referring to an all party meeting held yesterday, BJP state unit’s chief spokesperson Sunil Sethi said an opinion came up during the discussion for a unilateral ceasefire on the lines of one declared by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government.
“We have a strong view…Unilateral ceasefire in the present situation is not in national interest at all,” he added.
Flanked by another BJP spokesperson Arun Gupta, Sethi said the militants leadership in Kashmir Valley was under pressure because of the prolonged efforts of the Army.
“There are large scale casualties of militants taking place on daily basis. Currently militants are holed up. They are under pressure”, he said.
The raising of the demand for unilateral ceasefire is aimed to give a way out to the demoralised militants, ease pressure, and to save them, he said.
On Wednesday Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, who heads the PDP-BJP government in the state, had said GoI should consider a unilateral ceasefire in Jammu and Kashmir starting from Ramzan in mid May till the completion of the Amarnath yatra in August.
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