J&K an integral part: Sonia

NEW YORK, JUNE 27. Asserting that Kashmir was an integral part of India, the Congress president, Ms. Sonia Gandhi, has asked Pakistan to stop cross-border terrorism and ``vigorously'' curb forces of religious fundamentalism and obscurantism.

Jammu and Kashmir, including Ladakh, is ``inextricably woven'' into the fabric of India's pluralistic heritage and Indian Constitution has ``sufficient in-built flexibility to accommodate the legitimate democratic aspirations of Indians living in the Valley,'' she told a joint meeting of the Asia Society and the Council of Foreign Relations on Tuesday. Conceding that there was no easy solution to the Kashmir issue, she asserted that India would not ``countenance another Partition based on religion''.

She pointed out that elections to the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly were due next year, and urged Pakistan to take effective measures to restore democratic institutions and norms in the part of the State that was under its ``illegal occupation''.

Expressing support for the upcoming summit between the Prime Minister, Mr. A.B. Vajpayee and the Pakistani President, General Pervez Musharraf, she said India was committed to ``meaningful negotiations'' with Islamabad to resolve all outstanding issues, including Jammu and Kashmir.

``We must have demonstrable, verifiable and enforceable confidence-building measures to avert the risk of a nuclear and missile conflict,'' Ms. Gandhi said and asked Pakistan to stop cross-border terrorism.

The elections in Kashmir, she told the meeting, ``offers an opportunity of demonstrating the extraordinary resilience of the Indian democracy and its capacity for transforming yesterday's agitators to today's rulers.''

- PTI

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