Abdullah hopes for resumption of Indo-Pak dialogue

Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah today hoped that the proposed visit of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to Pakistan will help in improving relations, lead to resumption of dialogue process and resolution of all outstanding issues between the two countries.
"We hope that Sushma Swaraj's visit to Pakistan will improve the relations between the two countries and also in carrying forward the dialogue process so that all issues between them can be resolved," he told reporters here after paying tributes to his father and National Conference founder Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah on his 110th birth anniversary.
Abdullah, who was commenting on media reports about Swaraj's visit, also welcomed the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistan counterpart Nawaz Sharif in Paris last week.

"We do not know what they talked about but let us hope that they find some way of resolving this (Jammu and Kashmir) issue," the NC leader said addressing the party supporters at Sheikh's mausoleum on the banks of Dal lake here.
Abdullah addressed the party workers in Kashmiri, refusing a request by mediapersons to speak in English or Urdu. "This is our mother tongue and we should promote it," he said to a loud applause from the party workers.
He reiterated his earlier statement that neither India nor Pakistan had the capability to annexe the territory of Jammu and Kashmir in each other's control. "Both have atom (nuclear) bombs. Are we going to drop these bombs on each other and get wiped out?" he asked.

He said both the countries would have to resolve their

issues through dialogue.
"I do not know anything about whether they (Pakistan Prime Minister s Foreign Affairs Advisor Sartaj Aziz and NSA Ajit Doval) talked or not. But one day both the countries will have to resolve their issues through dialogue. There is no other way," he said.
He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi wishes to solve this issue and "I hope one day he will talk to Pakistan as there is no other option".
"Both the countries should exhibit restraint. When border skirmishes happen, people on both sides suffer losses. Both are parts of Kashmir," he said.

Commenting on the Prime Minister's remarks at a Jalandhar rally that he was determined to stop the flow of water into Pakistan and bring it for farmers of Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir, Abdullah said people of India were "befooled".
"People of India were befooled. What did Modi say in Jalandhar? He said he will stop Pakistan's water. Which rivers has he stopped water from?" he said.