Omar as CM Natwar’s solution for Kashmir

NEW DELHI, JANUARY 18: A suggestion by senior Congress leader Natwar Singh that the Kashmir problem would be solved once Omar Abdullah became the Chief Minister of the state today left junior Abdullah blushing.

Singh and Abdullah were participating in a panel discussion on Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf’s weekend speech which was also attended by Vijay Nambiar, Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan recalled last month, and Mushirul Hassan, a political analyst.

As the discussion, titled Question Time India to be telecast on BBC World tonight, gained momentum over the solution of Kashmir issue, Singh quipped: ‘‘Let Omar take over the administration in J-K, the problem would be solved.’’ Lauding the performance of junior Abdullah, the senior Congress leader also commented earlier that ‘‘one of the good things that the Vajpayee Government has done is to appoint this young man as Minister of State’’.

‘‘If he had been a full-fledged minister he would not have escorted three terrorists to Kandahar as his boss did,’’ Singh said.

Earlier, much to Abdullah’s amusement, a suggestion came from a member of the audience that Kashmiris did not want to be a part of India. A visibly taken aback Abdullah shot back: ‘‘I quote a report by a Danish NGO which stated that given a chance to choose between India and Pakistan, Kashmiris will vote for India. And time and again since independence, we have seen that people have came out and voted.’’ (PTI)