Independence no option for landlocked Kashmir: Farooq Abdullah

Lok Sabha Member from Jammu and Kashmir Farooq Abdullah said on Saturday that being landlocked between India, Pakistan and China, independence is no option for the Valley.

Addressing a party meeting in Mandi area of Poonch district, the forme Chief Minister said: "Independence is no option. On one side we have nuclear powers China and Pakistan and on the other side we have India.

"We have no atom bombs, no army and no jets. How are we going to survive as an independent nation? But, this does not mean that we are slaves of India."

The National Confrence chief said that India "must respect and honour the dignity of the people here otherwise the situation in Kashmir won't change".

He urged the Center to won the hearts and minds of people as "nothing else will work even if you build roads of gold".

The senior Abdullah, while taking a dig at the neighbouring Pakistan said that guns were no solution to Kashmir problem. He added that Pakistan was not able to handle its own problems. "What will they do to us"?

--IANS

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