NEW DELHI, Nov 22: India’s main communist party called on Wednesday for an urgent resolution of the Kashmir dispute but ruled out any solution that was based on a religious division of the region “No solution would be acceptable to the people of the state which envisages division of Jammu and Kashmir on religious or regional basis,” Communist Party of India (Marxist, CPI-M) state secretary Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami told reporters in Jammu.

Mr Tarighami, who has survived close calls in the past when he was attacked by armed militants, said extremism in any form was highly dangerous for the unity of Jammu and Kashmir.

“We have seen the fate of Afghanistan after being Talibanized. We do not want Jammu and Kashmir meeting a similar fate,” he said.

The CPI-M leader said fundamentalism was one of the basic challenges being faced by the state, which resulted in displacement of Kashmiri Pandit community from the valley.

“The rise of fundamentalism is a challenge to all political forces. Unfortunately, some people have been doing the error of supporting it,” Mr Tarigami, who is also a member of the state assembly, was quoted by Press Trust of India as saying.