Joint defence, economic union for Kashmir proposed
SRINAGAR, Jan 6: Jammu and Kashmir People’s Conference chairman Sajad Gani Lone put forward a peace plan on Saturday, seeking a single Jammu and Kashmir Economic Union.
Mr Lone proposed that unified Kashmir be administered by its people while the region’s defence could be the joint responsibility of Kashmiri, Indian and Pakistani authorities.
He said: “Achievable Nationhood” -- a 266-page document -- was the first of its kind to be presented by a separatist since the insurgency broke out in the Indian-controlled Kashmir in 1989.
Among other things, the document envisages unhindered tax-free movement of goods between the two Kashmirs.
“Achievable Nationhood propounds the creation of a single Jammu and Kashmir Economic Union which would result in a boundary-less and prosperous Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.
“The people of Jammu and Kashmir have both a responsibility and a right to put forward a clear vision for their future,” he said.
Mr Lone walked out of All Parties Hurriyat (Freedom) Conference after his father and region’s senior separatist leader Abdul Gani Lone was assassinated in 2002.—Reuters
