PM Modi 'only hope' for resolution of Kashmir dispute: Mehbooba

Jammu (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], May 6 (ANI): Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the only hope to address the 70-year-old Kashmir issue once and for all. Mufti came out in strong support of Prime Minister Modi saying he alone can help the people of the state in these troubling circumstances. Speaking at the inauguration of a much-awaited flyover in Jammu, the chief minister said, "If anyone can take us out of this quagmire, then it is Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He has the mandate. Whatever he decides, the nation will support him." Reiterating her stand of initiating the dialogue process to restore peace in Kashmir, Mufti said, "The previous prime minister also wanted to visit Pakistan, but could not. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Lahore is a proof of his abilities, an example of his moral authority." Mufti said that her father Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee also tried to resolve the Kashmir situation, but since then no efforts were made by subsequent governments. "Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and Atal Bihari Vajpayee had improved the relations between India and Pakistan, which were again disturbed due to the lack of initiative taken by the previous governments. Now after 2008, for the first time, people have started expressing passion in the matter," she added. Reacting to the statement of Congress leader G.S. Charak on the lack of development in Jammu, the chief minister said that a tense situation in Kashmir affected Jammu as well. "Jammu has many tourist destinations and we are trying to develop them," she added. Last month, Mufti met Prime Minister Modi at his residence in New Delhi and briefed him about the security situation in the Valley. After the meeting, she told reporters that it was important to resume the dialogue process initiated by former prime minister Vajpayee. (ANI)