Mehbooba Mufti for solving ceasefire violations issue through dialogue

In wake of the repeated instances of ceasefire violations from the other side of the border, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti on Friday said the people of Jammu and Kashmir demand a peaceful solution to their problems through a dialogue process.

"It is easier to fight, everyone can fight, anti-social elements fight, it is easier to wage a war, but it is tough to resolve an issue through dialogue process," she told a press conference here.

"We the people of Jammu and Kashmir do not want firing, we want the issue to be solved peacefully through a dialogue process. The people of this state have suffered a lot. Many were killed and thousands were displaced. We don't want that anymore," she added.

Lauding former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's for his ceasefire policy, Mufti said, "He had the vision, he had the caliber, he had the strength. Anyone can fight, any person can fight but only he had the strength to maintain peace through dialogue.

" For the first time then, there was a ceasefire and that was the longest ceasefire but unfortunately due to some incidents there was a violation of ceasefire and the people of the valley really had to suffer; so many people died and so many people were displaced."

Demanding the restoration of ceasefire, Mehbooba Mufti said the Defence Ministers of both the countries be made responsible for the same and not the Director Generals of Military Operations (DGMO).

"We the people of Jammu and Kashmir want the restoration of ceasefire and we want that it should be done strictly," said Mufti.

"It is the Defence Ministers, who should be responsible for the ceasefire violation," she added.

The DGMOs of India and Pakistan have been holding regular talks in wake of the repeated instances of ceasefire violations from the other side of the border.

Pakistani troops had earlier this week fired on 40 border outposts (BoPs) and 24 villages along the International Border in Jammu and Samba districts, leaving three people injured.

According to reports, there have been 33 ceasefire violations since July 16.