Why should I apologize for my Hurriyat comment? : Farooq Abdullah

Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and National Conference patron Farooq Abdullah on Thursday said he won't apologise for his remarks on the Hurriyat. He added that people of Kashmir are united because they want a final settlement of the state.

"Why should I apologize? don't you want settlement or do you want bombings on the border all the time, do you want innocent people to die. It is the citizen of Kashmir on both the sides who are dying and we are united because we want a final settlement of the state", Abdullah said.

Abdullah said India need to talk to all stakeholders in Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh.

"How will you resolve the Kashmir issue without talking to Pakistan? The two countries have to talk to each other. Also the Centre needs to initiate talks with the constituents of Jammu, Ladakh and Kashmir to find an amicable solution to the issue," Abdullah added.

Launching attack on the Centre, Abdullah said India should not blame him only because the ruling BJP-PDP is also talking to everybody, including Hurriyat.

"Why blame me only? Ruling BJP-PDP is talking to everybody, in their agenda they have said that Hurriyat must be talked to," he said.

The former chief minister had raked up a controversy on Monday by expressing his willingness to work with Separatists to work for the Kashmir cause.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Tuesday criticised Farooq Abdullah for asking the Hurriyat to unite for the cause of Kashmir, saying the opposition could play with anyone's life for the sake of the chair.

"The National Conference can go to a limit to get the chair. In the last four to five months, the condition of Jammu and Kashmir.a criminal content has entered in it. It proves from his statement that the National Conference was involved in violent activities taking place in the Valley for the last four-five months," she alleged.

Mufti further said the conditions in Jammu and Kashmir are improving with children returning to schools and tourism picking up fast.