War Detrimental To India And Pakistan, Negotiation Only Way Out: Shahi Imam Bukhari

New Delhi: War is "detrimental" to both India and Pakistan and "negotiation" is the only way forward for restoration of peace and normalcy, Shahi Imam of Delhi's Jama Masjid Syed Ahmed Bukhari has said.

"AK-47, bombs and pellet guns cannot solve any issue and a solution must be found for the Kashmir issue so that the people there can get rid of unspeakable plight," he said.

"It is difficult to solve any issue without initiation of talks. War was in interest of neither India nor Pakistan. Only parleys could solve the issues involved between the two nations. We know the results of previous wars between the two countries," the Shahi Imam said in a statement.

"If war could have been able to fetch any result, it would have brought results by now. Incidents of Uri, Pathankot and Kashmir are of great concern for us. After Uri incident, there has been an increase in tension between India and Pakistan. Tension on the borders and war hysteria on both sides were the aftermath of these incidents," he said.

Asserting that war was detrimental to both the nations, Shahi Imam Bukhari suggested that "we must not forget that both the nations were nuclear powers and how Hiroshima suffered the nuclear aftermath of these incidents".

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"Millions of Indian Muslims were passing through the state of tribulation and deliverance from this state is necessary because whenever tension rose between India and Pakistan, Muslims of India were directly affected by it.

"Need of the hour was to rise above the egos to get rid of this sore of terrorism. Hence, negotiation is the only option to a lasting solution," the cleric said.

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