Mehbooba, Omar and Mirwaiz on same page, demand opening of Kargil-Skardu route

Srinagar, Feb 1 (IANS) For once the two mainstream rivals, Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah on Friday found common cause with senior separatist leader Mirwaiz Umer Farooq demanding the opening of the Kargil-Skardu route.

Scores of people in Kargil town of Ladakh region today took out a march called by the 'Open Kargil-Skardu movement' demanding opening of the route between Kargil town and Skardu, which is in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

Supporting the demand of Kargil residents, former state chief minister and vice president of regional National Conference (NC) Omar Abdullah said on his twitter page: "(The party) supports this genuine demand of the people of the area & hopes that @PMOIndia will announce this important CBM when he next visits J&K".

Mehbooba Mufti, former chief minister and president of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) also supported the demand. Posting on her twitter handle, she said: "PDP envisaged through #SelfRule not only opening of #Kargil-Skardu, but other routes too, to let people explore & increase contacts across borders. Such initiatives will not only open up jk to the world around us, but also serve the cause of peace beyond boundaries".

Senior separatist leader, Miwaiz Umer Farooq had earlier supported the demand. He said on his twitter handle: "Support People's march in #Kargil demanding reopening of old Kargil-Skardu route which is just 120 km apart! All natural routes of divided state of J&K should be opened and people allowed to connect to their loved ones, have access to essentials in harsh weather conditions and be able to visit their places of worship and do commerce".