Take US, China help in Kashmir, says senior Abdullah

Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah on Friday said India needs to take help from the US or China to settle the Kashmir problem.

"(US President Donald) Trump himself has said he wants to settle the Kashmir problem. We didn't tell him. Even China said they want to mediate on Kashmir. You have to use someone for the talks," Abdullah said here.

He was responding to reporters who asked if he desired a third party to intervene in the Jammu and Kashmir dispute.

The Indian government maintains that there can be no third party involvement in Kashmir.

"How long will you wait for talks? Will you wait for 1,000 years? You have to catch the bull by the horn. Sometimes you have to do it. You have an atom bomb and they too have atom bomb. How many people will get killed?

"This is not the way. The only way is dialogue. Take a friend's help, we say we have friends across the world. So take their help for talks and tell them we want to solve it," Abdullah said.

The National Conference leader said he was not saying that Jammu and Kashmir should be handed over to Pakistan.

"If you and I have some tensions and we are unable to sort out the differences, then we use friends to sort out the problem," he said.

Abdullah said that even after 70 years, the Kashmir dispute between India and Pakistan had not been resolved.

"No results have come yet... The border is still there... Four battles have been fought. How much more losses you want... The money we spend on buying planes and other war machinery, if used for the poor farmers, then the country will develop rapidly.

"You need to find a solution. You won't find anything by being rigid," he added.

Pakistan holds the northern third of Jammu and Kashmir and India the southern two-thirds. India accuses Pakistan of arming and training militants fighting since 1989 to secede Kashmir.

--IANS

aks/bns/mr