ISLAMABAD, Jan 20: Chairman of the All Parties Hurriyet Conference (APHC) Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has said that leaders from both sides of Kashmir have agreed to set up working groups to enhance mutual interaction as part of intra-Kashmir dialogue aimed at contributing towards the resolution of the Kashmir issue.

Pakistan and India should extend their full support to the intra-Kashmir dialogue as it could bring the people on both sides of Kashmir closer to each other, he said while addressing a joint news conference with AJK President Raja Zulqarnain Haider after a detailed meeting between the APHC delegation and AJK leaders at the Kashmir House. He said a more united Kashmiri leadership could mount pressure for involvement of the Kashmiri people in the dialogue process.

AJK Prime Minister Sardar Attique Ahmad and members of the visiting APHC delegation, Abdul Ghani Bhat and Bilal Lone, were also present.

He said that a tripartite dialogue involving Pakistan, India and the Kashmiris was vital to finding a durable solution to the longstanding Kashmir dispute.

“Kashmiri people cannot be ignored in any dialogue process aimed at resolving the issue,” said Mirwaiz Farooq.

He said it was crystal clear that there could no military solution and the only feasible way for durable peace in the region was to bolster the peace process.

Any military conflict would be disastrous for the region as both Pakistan and India were nuclear powers and the focus should, therefore, be on continuing the dialogue process, he said.To another question, he said mujahideen groups should support the dialogue process for durable peace in the region.

He said exchange of top-level visits between India and Pakistan would be of crucial important to develop better understanding on a peaceful solution to the Kashmir issue.

AJK President Raja Zulqarnain Haider said that the four-point formula presented by President General Pervez Musharraf could pave the way for a peaceful resolution of the Kashmir problem, and India should reciprocate positively.

The AJK president said the visit of the APHC delegation to Pakistan was a milestone and hoped such contacts would be continued to foster better understanding.—APP

Our reporter adds: The visiting APHC delegation has said that there is realisation on the part of Indian political leadership that Kashmir is a historical dispute which has to be resolved as the issue is not going to die. Moreover, it is in their economic and political interest as well to find a solution to the issue on permanent basis.

The APHC delegation said this at a meeting with the Chairman of Kashmir Committee, Hamid Nasir Chattha, held at the Parliament House here on Saturday.

The meeting was also attended by Raja Nadir Pervaiz, Dr Attiya Inayatullah, MNAs, and senior officials from the National Assembly.