J&K CM Omar Abdullah
NEW DELHI: Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday backed calls for dialogue between India and Pakistan, a day after 117 eminent citizens from both countries wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart, Shehbaz Sharif, urging the two nuclear-armed neighbours to resume talks.Former chief minister Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah’s father, is among the 61 Indian signatories to the letter.”This tension (between India and Pakistan) has persisted for the last 30 to 40 years. It escalated further following what happened in Pahalgam last year. Now, a request is being made to the prime minister through a letter to find a way to improve relations between the two countries. No one should have any objection to this,” the chief minister told reporters in Shopian, ANI reported.Abdullah’s reference to Pahalgam was to the April 22, 2025, terror attack in which 26 civilians were killed by Pakistan-backed terrorists. India retaliated with Operation Sindoor on the intervening night of May 6 and 7. The conflict came to a halt on May 10 after New Delhi accepted Islamabad’s request for a ceasefire.He also questioned why appeals for talks by leaders from Jammu and Kashmir invite criticism, while similar remarks by Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leaders do not. The RSS is the ideological mentor of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).”Recently, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat stated that India and Pakistan should talk to each other and establish friendly ties. No one objects when the RSS says this, yet an uproar ensues when leaders from Jammu and Kashmir speak of it. As (former PM) Atal Bihari Vajpayee used to say, one can change friends but not neighbours; we want relations between neighbours to improve,” Abdullah said.Mehbooba Mufti, another former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister, also welcomed the Sangh leadership’s call for talks between India and Pakistan.”I am pleased that senior RSS leaders, including Dattatreya Hosabale and Mohan Bhagwat, along with several others, have stated that there should be talks with Pakistan. There should be the movement of people, mutual interaction, and an exchange of ideas. It echoes exactly what Vajpayee ji said: ‘You can change your friends, but not your neighbours.’ I feel this sentiment is gaining endorsement. We have written letters to the prime ministers of both India and Pakistan,” she told ANI on Wednesday.Mufti is also among the signatories to the letter.
