New Delhi: Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah on Friday stirred up a hornet's nest, suggesting that India should explore the option of third party intervention to bring a peaceful solution to the Kashmir problem.
"India has so many friends across the world. They can ask them to act as a mediator. US President Donald Trump had indicated that he wanted to settle the Kashmir problem," Abdullah said, adding, "China also said that it wanted to mediate the Kashmir issue."
Abdullah said that if India can talk to China to avoid a war, it can also talk to Pakistan. "For how long are you going to wait? Sometimes, you have to take the bull by its horns."
However, later, Farooq Abdullah clarified his statement, saying he was being misunderstood. "The talk between India and Pakistan is essential, and for that, conditions must be created so that there can be peace in the region," he said.
Abdullah, then, suggested that if India and Pakistan cannot talk, "China and France can facilitate talks; the third party can create an atmosphere for a dialogue."
Reacting to Abdullah's suggestion, Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi said that it's India's internal matter. "I just want to say that Kashmir is India and India is Kashmir," Rahul said.
He also hit out at the BJP-PDP-led government for the ongoing unrest in Kashmir, saying, "For a long time, I have been saying that Modi and his govt's policies have burnt Kashmir."
Farooq Abdullah's son Omar Abdullah took to Twitter to defend his father's comment. "Talk about spinning a statement. Dr Abdullah has said friends can be used to facilitate a dialogue with Pakistan, to facilitate a solution."
Omar added that his father didn't call for a mediation but just said that "Trump offered to help", and so did China. "How is that the same as him asking for it?"
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