ISLAMABAD, Sept 29: Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Party (JKDP) chief Shabbir Shah, calling for a dialogue between Pakistan and India, has said that there is no other way out except negotiations for a peaceful resolution of Kashmir issue.

“It is better if the heads of the two countries meet first, then the major political parties in Kashmir should be taken into confidence,” Shah told VDA.

He said further avenues could be sought by providing the Kashmiri leadership an opportunity to hold talks with Pakistan and with the leadership on the Pakistan side of Kashmir.

Commenting on the fake elections in the Indian-held Jammu and Kashmir, he said, the elections were not being held for the first time in the Valley. “This drama of polls is being enacted since 1947, and the elections were held in 1996 and ‘98 as well.”

This time, he pointed out, it was being portrayed to the world that the 2002 elections were exceptionally significant in resolving the Kashmir issue.

“We have tried to convey to international community that these elections are nothing but a farce and only those people are participating in it who have been doing so since 1947,” he said.

Previously, it was grandfather then father and now their sons were contesting the elections, he added.

He said the world community must have observed the way Indian security forces pressured the villagers to come out of their homes for polling.

The JKDP along with the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) “maintains a clear stance that these elections are meaningless unless the Kashmir issue is addressed to,” he added.

Denying the impression that polls will pave the way for a peaceful resolution of the Kashmir issue, he said: “It is totally wrong.”

Elaborating, he said only those persons were contesting these elections who intended to represent the Indian government in Kashmir.

Had these polls been held to prove how much the masses backed the cause of the freedom parties, “we would have certainly accepted that,” he maintained.

Asked what was the outcome of his visit to New Delhi, he said: “The Indian government betrayed us. It first gave us an invitation to visit New Delhi to have unconditional talks but later on it backed out.”—APP