Sardar Attique to visit Kashmir

To Be Accompanied By 20-Member Delegation On Private Trip

NISAR AHMED THOKAR

Islamabad, Sep 9: Former Pakistan administered Kashmir (PaK) prime minister and the president of Muslim Conference Sardar Attique Ahmed Khan would be visiting Kashmir valley this month to attend a marriage ceremony.
“I have been invited by my friend Zahoor Ahmad Shah (Watali) to attend the marriage of his son scheduled in mid-September. If everything goes as per plan, I will be in Srinagar within a couple of days to join the wedding ceremony”, Khan told Greater Kashmir.
The marriage ceremony of Dr Yasir Shah son of Srinagar-based leading businessman and head of Trison Group is scheduled from September 17 to 19.
Khan’s personal secretary said the former PaK premier would be, on his Srinagar visit, accompanied by a 20-member delegation comprising legislators, intellectuals and mediamen. He said the delegation would travel to the Valley through Muzaffarabad-Srinagar road.
Commenting on the visit, a close aide of Sardar Attique said: “Although it is a private visit but it would certainly create a lot of hype on both sides of LoC as Khan would be the first high-profile political personality from PaK to visit the Valley”.
He said Khan was enjoying good relationship with the political leadership of all shades of opinion in Kashmir. “I think his visit won’t just remain limited to the wedding ceremony rather there would be lot of political activity on the sidelines”, he maintained.
Pertinently, Khan is the only politician in PaK who supports Gen Parvez Musharraf’s four point formula and believes that the initiatives taken by the former Pak president would help resolve the long-pending Kashmir issue.
He is also a strong proponent of intra-Kashmir trade and believes that the cross LoC trade is a prerequisite for the socio-economic development of the region. He had suggested that the LoC should be transformed into a line of commerce rather than line of conflict and is quite optimistic that opening of more trade routes and enhancing of people to people contact would help create conducive atmosphere to settle the Kashmir issue amicably.
 When contacted, the host Zahoor Ahmad Watali told Greater Kashmir that he has invited many friends in Pakistan and Pakistan administered Kashmir for the marriage ceremony of his son. “I don’t really know how many of them would be able to make it to Srinagar,” he said
.