Alliance agenda envisages reaching out to separatists, Pak:

A day after BJP's J&K unit chief disfavoured talks with separatists, a senior leader of ally PDP voiced disagreement saying the agenda of alliance between the two parties had envisaged reaching out to everyone including Pakistan.
In a statement, PDP vice president Mohammad Sartaj Madni asked BJP leaders to draw a leaf from the Vajpayee era while expressing hope that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would set in a discourse of peace afresh to lead the state out of the present morass.
The very idea of closing the doors of reconciliation and understanding on vital political issues undermines the process of peace which does not serve the peoples interest, Madni said.

Referring to Agenda of Alliance (AoA) between PDP and BJP, Madni said it envisaged an agenda of hope and promise to reach out to everyone including separatists and Pakistan.
"No one can afford a volte-face on this," he said.
Madni said PDP founder and former Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed with support from then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had shown the way forward for peace and resolution in Jammu and Kashmir in 2002 to 2005.

The situation then was marked by public appreciation, mutual cooperation and understanding which led to a phase of development, stability and peace, he said adding that the relations between India and Pakistan also had improved.

"It was in this backdrop that PDP trusted BJP and the Union government," he said.
The peace and political process picked up well again when Modi surprised every one by visiting Pakistan, Madni said.
"Unfortunately, some provocative incidents impeded this course. But it is this course that alone yields substance in resolving the issues at stake," he said.
Some unwarranted postures had contributed to trust deficit and alienation leading to confrontation and acrimony at various levels, he said.
He called upon the BJP leaders to draw a leaf from Vajpayee era and strengthen the process of mutual reconciliation and dialogue.

"History is replete with lessons that no one turns out a beneficiary from war and confrontation and no one should be allowed to undermine the importance of reach out and dialogue even in an atmosphere of provocations and mistrust, the PDP leader said.
"We hope the prime minister will use his massive mandate and influence to set in a discourse of peace afresh so that the state of Jammu and Kashmir is brought out from the present morass and people of the region are given a participatory role to prosper," he said.
Madni said PDP holds 'agenda of peace' as a 'sacred trust' and reiterates its resolve to work with fidelity to have it accomplished.

"We hoped that everyone will subscribe to this agenda as the only way out to end hostilities, protest and bloodshed," he said.
The statement came just a day after BJP state unit president Sat Sharma disfavoured any dialogue with the separatists, saying that talks on addressing the Kashmir issue should take place only with those who "accept the Constitution of India".
"As far as talks are concerned, whether the Prime Minister or anyone else has talked about this issue, I think the talks about Kashmir should happen only with those who accept the Constitution of India and you will see with the passage of time that such an atmosphere will be built," Sharma had told reporters here.