Omar Abdullah congratulates Nawaz Sharif

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, while congratulating Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader Nawaz Sharif on his victory in Pakistan general elections, said he hoped that the peace process with India would start again.

Tweeting on micro-blogging website Twitter Sunday morning, Omar Abdullah said, "Congratulations to Nawaz Sharif. I hope he is now able to live up to his commitment to restart his peace process interrupted in 1999."

Nawaz Sharif's government was overthrown in a military coup by Gen Pervez Musharraf in 1999, after which Sharif went into exile in Saudi Arabia.

But Omar Abdullah believes that any meaningful engagement with Pakistan can take place only after India's forthcoming general elections. "I suppose we'll have to wait for a post-election scenario to emerge in our country before any meaningful engagement can begin," he added in his tweets.

Commenting on terror strikes in Pakistan during electioneering, Omar Abdullah said: "Given the bloody election Pakistan has seen, I hope they now realise that there can be no good terrorists and bad terrorists, all terror is bad."

The chief minister, quoting the Pakistani poll chief's remarks, advised Kashmiris to ignore boycott calls. "Good reason for Kashmiris to ignore boycott calls: Bad people gain if good don't vote: Pakistan poll chief," tweeted Omar Abdullah.