The Jammu and Kashmir government today reiterated that a "dialogue with Pakistan" could resolve the issues facing the state even as the opposition claimed that the stance of ruling coalition partners PDP and BJP were contradictory. Raising the issue during the Zero Hour in the state Assembly, National Conference leader Ali Mohammad Sagar said that one party was advocating peace and another was talking of war. Sagar displayed comments by Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti that in accordance with the Agenda of Alliance reached between the two parties, her government would pursue former Prime Minister A B Vajpayees 'Insaaniyat, Kashmiriyat and Jamhooriyat' doctrine to seek dialogue to resolve outstanding issues of the state. "The parties ruling the state, which have got the mandate from the people, one in Kashmir and another in Jammu, talk differently in the House. They are misleading the people," Sagar said. He said the BJP should make its stance clear. Parliamentary Affairs minister Abdul Rehman Veeri, in his response, said the coalition government is committed to the dialogue process and it has been included in the agenda of the alliance. "There is no contradiction.
We believe in internal and external dialogue to resolve outstanding issues facing the state," Veeri said. Interrupting Veeri, Sagar asked him to look at the practical situation on the ground. He added that people and the intelligentsia also favoured dialogue. National Conference MLA Devender Singh Rana also spoke on the issue during the zero hour and said "we all, whether from ruling or opposition benches, want restoration of the peace in the state". Drawing the attention of the government towards the plight of border residents, he suggested the government constitute a house committee which can visit the border areas and meet the people living there.
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