Syed Ahmed Bukhari, the shahi imam of Delhi’s Jama Masjid, has written to Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif urging him to persuade militant youth and Hurriyat leaders to agree to a ceasefire and resolve the Kashmir issue through dialogue.
In a nearly one-month-old letter, Bukhari said the Kashmir issue was becoming volatile day-by-day, resulting in increase in tension between the two countries and the only practical way to ease tension on the border was initiation of dialogue between India and Pakistan.
“Thousands of people are living under the shadow of AK- 47, a life besieged by bloodshed,” he said.
This game of death and destruction is making the situation grave. Due to these circumstances, millions of Indian Muslims are also facing a trying situation. Whenever ties between the two countries are tense it directly affects the Muslims of India, Bukhari said.
“The Kashmir issue can neither be solved through guns and stones nor through military expeditions. We should create an environment conducive for the talks at the earliest.
“Through the exchange of views and dialogue on the larger issues, we all should formulate a strategy that is in the interest of both nations,” he said in the letter.
{{/usCountry}}“Through the exchange of views and dialogue on the larger issues, we all should formulate a strategy that is in the interest of both nations,” he said in the letter.
{{/usCountry}}Referring to what former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had said that “one could change friends but not the neighbours”, Bukhari said he perceived in the context of the current situation, positive measures aimed to ensure dialogue process were needed keeping in view the interest of the two countries and their people.
“I request you to kindly persuade the militant youth and Hurriyat leaders to agree for a ceasefire through your good offices and influence,” the shahi imam said.
When contacted, Bukhari told PTI, “I had written the letter to Nawaz Sharif on June 22, in the month of Ramzan.”