Jammu: Self-rule championed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) aims to kill the negative effects of India's partition, former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed said on Thursday.
The partition of India, which left Jammu and Kashmir divided between India and Pakistan, has left festering wounds on both sides of the border, the PDP leader said.
Addressing a public meeting at Rajouri, 160 km north of Jammu, Mufti Sayeed said that "partition has plugged all traditional routes which were earlier connecting Jammu and Kashmir with the rest of the world".
The PDP's self-rule document envisages devolution of power to the sub regions in both parts of Kashmir held by India and Pakistan.
The party is for reconnecting all parts of the state, as was the case before the 1947 partition of the Indian sub-continent.
"Opening of all traditional routes through Kashmir, Jammu and Ladakh would help the state in harnessing its inherent potential as a business centre as it was before 1947," he said.
He termed the opening of crossing points on the Line of Control dividing Jammu and Kashmir between India and Pakistan as the biggest confidence building measure taken during the PDP-Congress regime in the state.
IANS
First Published: Thursday, July 07, 2011, 20:41