Mehbooba hopes friendship triumphs over acrimony between India, Pak

Kaman Post (North Kashmir), Jul 18 : Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti today hoped that peace and friendship between India and Pakistan would finally triumph over acrimony and confrontation between the two neighboring countries. “The ambit of cross-LoC trade and travel activities should be further expanded so that there is more exchange of people and goods,” Ms Mehbooba said while interacting with media-persons after visiting Trade Facilitation Centre (TFC), Salamabad and Kaman Post, the last Indian military post on this side of the LoC in Uri sector in north Kashmir. The visit of Ms Mehbooba to Kaman Post came on a day when one militant were killed as troops foiled yet another infiltration bid from Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK) in Gurez seetor in north Kashmir district of Bandipora. The Chief Minister described poverty, unemployment and corruption as the biggest enemies of the people of the two countries and suggested pooling of resources by the two countries in fighting these menaces. She said it is a fact that borders cannot be redrawn but they can certainly be made irrelevant with frequent exchange of people, students, artists and other groups of people. Expressing dismay over recurrent flare-ups along the LoC, the Chief Minister said unfortunately, the people of Jammu and Kashmir are the worst sufferers of this hostility as they have to live under perpetual threat to their lives and properties. She said the only way to prevent the loss of lives and destruction of properties and ensure peace along the borders is to revive the spirit of the 2003 ceasefire which had brought new hope of peace and prosperity in the lives of the people along the borders from Kathua to Kargil. Advocating opening of more traditional routes along the LoC, Ms Mehbooba said with this the people on the two sides would come closer to each other, understand better each others’ problems which ultimately would lead to lowering of tensions and violence which has plagued the State for a long time now. UNI