Asserting that dialogue is the only way to resolve the Kashmir issue, a senior National Conference leader has said that mutual discourse is important for finding a lasting solution acceptable to all.
"Mutual discourse is must to hammer out a situation acceptable to all," Jammu and Kashmir Minister for Rural Development Ali Mohammad Sagar said on Saturday during a public function in Kupwara district, 75 kms from Srinagar.
"We are hopeful that a lasting solution will be found to the vexed issue in the near future," the Minister said.
The Centre has already initiated the process of talking to different shades of opinions in the state, which is a welcome step and would facilitate in finding a lasting solution, he said.
Sagar said history stands testimony to the fact that various issues have been resolved amicably by talking to each other rather than "propagating cult of intolerance".
"We have seen through the last 20 years, the futility of violent means, which have only resulted in inflicting irreparable economic, social and psychological losses on the people of the state," he said.