Kulgam, March 20: Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) President and Former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday reminded the leadership in New Delhi and Islamabad that the route to peace in subcontinent traverses through Kashmir and any bonhomie between the two neighbors should put Kashmir and Kashmiris front and centre.

Addressing a gathering of party workers at District Convention Kulgam Mehbooba Mufti said that any renewed thaw in the relationships of the two countries is subservient to the progress made towards addressing the long pending political and democratic demands of people of Jammu and Kashmir.

“Recent statement of Pakistan army chief calling for burying the hatchet and moving the Indo-Pak relationship forward is a positive development. But we must be reminded that aiming for low hanging fruit like movement of goods and people through Wagah border or giving India a passage to Central Asia via Pakistan and Afghanistan while putting Kashmir issue at the back burner is akin to missing wood for the trees,” Mehbooba said.

“If they are really sincere and mean business they must know that the process of reconciliation has to begin with Kashmir. While statements back and forth indicate a movement forward but people of Jammu and Kashmir continue to be shrouded in the veil of darkness without any reprieve in sight,” she added.

Addressing the convention senior party leader Dr Mehboob Beg lauded the steadfastness and resolve of party president Mehbooba Mufti for her constant advocacy of resolution of Kashmir issue despite the full frontal assault on the party and its leadership.

“Our leaders are languishing in jails, party president is constantly in the eye of the storm but PDP as an institution refuses to buckle under pressure and continues to be the people`s movement as envisaged by party founder Mufti Mohammed Sayeed,” Beg said.

Highlighting the decay in governance and public delivery mechanism senior leader and former Minister Sofi Ab Gaffar chided the administration for its deep slumber and incompetence in mitigating the miseries of the people.

“Post August 5th 2019 governance has taken a nosedive and in the absence of political oversight babus are crushing the common man. Corruption is at its peak, inflation is soaring, spurious pesticides are ruining our horticulture and no one seems to care,” Sofi lamented.