FARUQ ABDULLAH STATED THAT CONDITION OF KASHMIR WONT AMELIORATE UNTIL INDIA AND PAKISTAN HOLD CONVERSATION

On Sunday, president of National Conference Faruq Abdullah asserted that holding any international conference won't benefit the condition of Kashmir until India and Pakistan decide to resolve the issue through conversation.

     He also said Jammu and Kashmir was suffering heavy losses because of the lack of an elected government.

He told “The question is whether we will benefit in terms of tourism arrivals from these countries? That cannot happen till the situation here does not improve and the situation will not improve till the two big countries do not hold dialogue on how to shape the future of this state."

    The NC president was responding to a question whether holding of the G20 meeting in Srinagar would benefit the union territory.

We did. The roads which were in bad shape for many years were repaired. The walls got a fresh coat of paint. The street lights started working. So we did benefit from it," he said.

Over lack of an elected government in J and K, Abdullah, "Democracy is when there is an elected government. One LG and his advisor cannot look after the entire state. There are MLAs who look after their respective areas as it is their duty. The bureaucracy is not bothered about these things as they do not retire till the age of 60 years. An MLA has to go back to the people every five years. If he does not work, he won't get the votes. Therefore, it is very important that elections should be held here," he said.