Farooq Abdullah wants US, China help to resolve Kashmir issue

National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah yesterday suggested third party mediation to resolve the Kashmir issue, saying India should take the help of "friends" and that dialogue was the only solution

Farooq Abdullah says dialogue is the only solution. Pic/PTI

National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah yesterday suggested third party mediation to resolve the Kashmir issue, saying India should take the help of "friends" and that dialogue was the only solution.

The former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir also asked, "Till what time should we wait?" and wondered how many more wars will India and Pakistan fight. "The way out is through dialogue. Use your friends... Use them for dialogue to resolve the issue," he told reporters outside Parliament. Asked if he meant that a "third party" should be involved, Abdullah said, "(US President) Donald Trump has said he wants to settle the Kashmir problem. We did not ask him for it (help). China has also said it wants to mediate in Kashmir ... We are not saying (that we) hand over things to them."

He stressed that taking help does not mean "we should hand over" the affairs to "friends". "You haven't spoken for 70 years... four wars have happened," he said when reminded by a reporter about India's stand that Kashmir was a bilateral issue between India and Pakistan. "Till what time should we wait? Should we wait for a thousand years? You have to take the bull by the horns. You have to do it sometimes. They (Pakistan) have atom bomb, so have you. How many people will you kill? This is not the way," Abdullah said.

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