Shun hostility: Farooq counsels India and Pakistan

National Conference president Farooq Abdullah on Tuesday counselled caution as tension shot up between India and Pakistan.

“Exchange of warnings on war has further vitiated the atmosphere…,” Mr. Abdullah said at an event to mark the 33rd death anniversary of National Conference founder Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah here.

He said Jammu and Kashmir and its people would have to bear the brunt of a conflict between the two countries, as was evident from the past. “Jammu and Kashmir is the first target to get hit by the bombardment and exchange of heavy fire,” he said, appealing to India and Pakistan to shun hostility.

“[The negotiating] table is the only way to resolve issues. The former Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, got it right: ‘friends can be changed but not neighbours’,” he said.

Dr. Abdullah also asked the Centre to open talks with separatists.

He alleged that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) fooled the people over its alliance with the BJP. “One year has passed after the floods devastated the State, in September 2014, and the funds that tempted Mufti Mohammad Sayeed to join hands with the BJP are nowhere in sight.”