Amritsar: Opposition National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah on Wednesday demanded exemplary punishment to guilty in rape and murder of 8-year-old girl at Rasana in Kathua district.
“The matter is sub-judice. However, the innocent girl must get justice and guilty delivered exemplary punishment,” Farooq said in an informal interaction with media after paying obeisance at the Golden Temple here.
He hoped people to maintain their cool and strengthen the time tested bonds of amity, unity and brotherhood.
Referring to India and Pakistan relations, he said dialogue was the only way forward to herald peace in Indo-Pak region and urged the two nations to break the ice and initiate meaningful engagement to sort out the issues.
“National Conference has been consistently and strongly vouching for Indo-Pak talks and this has now even been endorsed by the Chiefs of Army of the two countries as well, which is a welcome development,” he said.
He also expressed happiness over realization dawning on the Army chiefs of the two countries, saying “this is vindication of our stand”.
He said that wars were no solution to solve problems, howsoever, serious in nature these may be, as negotiation table is ultimately the forum to thin down difference and reach conclusions.
He hoped that the positive observations and assertions of the Army chiefs would be taken forward to create conducive conditions for talks. He said beneficiaries of the Indo-Pak dialogue would be people of Jammu and Kashmir, who have been braving the brunt of hostilities.
Farooq said history stands testimony to the fact that all the issues have been sorted out by sitting around the table and hoped that the common sentiment for dialogue process would be initiated by India and Pakistan.
He also exuded confidence that Indo-Pak talks would lead to culmination of the border hostilities and cycle of violence in Kashmir. He reiterated that talks with all the stakeholders with an avowed objective of addressing to internal and external dimensions of the Jammu and Kashmir imbroglio, which he termed as political in character, would be a major initiative towards lasting peace in the region.
Earlier, Dr Farooq Abdullah and Devender Singh Rana, who accompanied him, paid obeisance at the Golden Temple and prayed for universal peace and brotherhood.
He also prayed for well being of the people of the country and Jammu and Kashmir State besides end to the disturbed conditions that have caused enumerable sufferings to the people, a statement of national conference said.
