Calling for turning the Line of Control (LoC) into “a line of peace” and converting Jammu and Kashmir into “a symbol of India-Pakistan cooperation”, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said dialogue with Islamabad will continue “despite difficulties” and the “blackmail” of terror.

On a day-long tour of Jammu where he received an honorary doctorate from the university here, Singh said India remained committed to its resolve to end terrorism and ruled out any division or fresh partition of J&K.

“I hope and believe that Jammu and Kashmir can, one day, become a symbol of India-Pakistan cooperation rather than of conflict. As I have stated earlier, borders cannot be changed, but they can be made irrelevant,” he said.

“There can no be question of divisions or fresh partitions, but the Line of Control can become a line of peace.” He also made it clear that “real political power in a democracy comes from the ballot box, not the barrel of a gun. We are firm in our resolve to fight terrorism and to end the blackmail of terror in this peace-loving state.”

Admitting there were some hurdles in talks with Pakistan, Singh said New Delhi will continue the dialogue with Islamabad “despite difficulties, in this spirit because I genuinely believe that there is no alternative but to work for building peace”.

The dialogue with Pakistan, he said, is aimed at ending the “bitter legacy of the last 60 years, and begin a new chapter in our bilateral relations”.

On turning J&K into a symbol of Indo-Pakistan cooperation, Singh said the state’s natural resources could be used for the benefit of the people. “They (resources) need no longer be points of contention or a source of conflict. We could, for instance, use the land and water resources of the region jointly for the benefit of all the people living on both sides of the LoC. Similarly, there are vast opportunities to jointly work together for the mutual benefit of our people,” he said.

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