Summit echoes in J-K: Change is not far away

According to her, the time had come to resolve all disputes through meaningful dialogue. ‘‘Not only leaders of India and Pakistan but also those advocating the separatist cause have realised the changing public opinion in favour of peace.’’

Communist Party general secretary Mohammad Yosuf Tarigami points out that leaders apart, people of the subcontinent had a deep yearning for peace, and that Saarc summit could help fulfil it. ‘‘I can see a real change in the ties between India and Pakistan. We can’t expect miracles from the summit but it can be a good beginning for peace,’’ he says, wishing it success.

‘‘People of the state can act as a bridge between India and Pakistan as we have much at stake in the ongoing turmoil,’’ Tarigami says.

Hakeem Yasin, Revenue Minister in the coalition government and chairman of the Peoples’ Democratic Forum, is equally hopeful. ‘‘We have always been advocating peace in the region. The Saarc summit is a golden opportunity to start relations afresh. Initiatives like opening of the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road can be good achievements of the summit,’’ he says. Rural Development Minister Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed, who belongs to the Congress, points out the huge crowds at a recent peace rally of the coalition government. ‘‘It was a testimony that people want peace.’’

But Shiekh Nazir, general secretary of the the National Conference strikes a discordant note, saying that people should not get their hopes too high. ‘‘SAARC is a regional body meant to discuss issues like economic and cultural ties, and people should not expect something big to come out of it. I don’t think leaders are going to address political issues at the summit,’’ he stresses.