JKUPM protests killings in valley, advocates dialogue to resolve Kashmir issue

Members of the Jammu and Kashmir United Peace Movement (JKUPM) Saturday protested in Jammu against the killings in the valley and advocated dialogue to resolve the Kashmir problem.

The protesters assembled at Exhibition Ground and staged a peaceful sit-in on a day when seven civilians, three militants and an army soldier were killed and scores of others injured in a gunfight and subsequent protests in Pulwama district of south Kashmir.

"We have assembled here to seek an end to the killings, spread the message of peace and highlight the need to maintain communal harmony," chairman JKUPM Himmat Singh Singh told PTI.

He said the unabated violence in Kashmir and the loss of human lives on a daily basis should be put to an end which was possible only when the concerned parties start a meaningful dialogue.

"Kashmir has become a flashpoint in the sub-continent and a major hurdle in the development of South Asia. Bullet is not a solution to the problem," he said.

Former minister Baba Singh said the unrealistic approach of the successive governments at the centre and state is the root cause of the prevailing situation in the valley.

"We demand immediate end to the human rights violations. Kashmir is a dispute pending solution since 1947,? he said advocating a trilateral approach involving India, Pakistan and people of Jammu and Kashmir to address the issue.

He said JKUPM will launch a massive campaign across the state and the country to press for solution to the Kashmir problem through a meaningful dialogue.