London: The prevailing "peaceful atmosphere" in Jammu and Kashmir was not a "fluke" but a "permanent phase", Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed said on August 22 even as his political rival Omar Abdullah favoured converting line of control (LoC) into a "soft international border" between India and Pakistan.

"It is not a temporary phase but a permanent phase," said Mufti Sayeed on BBC World's Question Time India programme while appearing with National Conference leader Omar Abdullah, Hurriyat leader Sajjad Lone and some other Kashmiri leaders.

The Chief Minister said the peaceful atmosphere prevailing in the state is supported not only by the people of Jammu and Kashmir but also by the people of Pakistan and India.

"So I must say this change in the situation is conducive for peace and this peaceful atmosphere is not a fluke, it is not a temporary phase. It is the will and determination of the people of Jammu and Kashmir."

Mufti Sayeed suggested that the "walls of hatred and suspicion (existing between India and Pakistan) should be removed and the 300 km Uri-Rawalpindi Road should be reopened."

Omar Abdullah suggested that a solution to the Kashmir problem lay in converting the line of control into a soft international border.

"A soft border is essential to allow people of both sides of Kashmir to come across and facilitate the families to meet, reunite and trade. Greater autonomy to Jammu and Kashmir on this side, greater autonomy to Kashmir on that side of the border will help to solve the problem.

"This is where the solution lies and this is what government of India must address internally as well as externally," the former minister of state for external affairs said.

Espousing the hard-line, Sajjad Lone warned Mufti Mohammed that he has not given the correct assessment of the situation in Kashmir.

Claiming that it was the "lull before the storm", Lone said, "It is deceptive and intentionally deceptive. If tourists are the way of gauging normalcy then in 1999 you had much more tourists than you have now and after that there was a violent upsurge.

"What you have done basically is sanitised an area of 10 km, which is Srinagar city. You go to the villages and try to see what is the fate of villagers there... violence is troubling them every day. As long as you don't address the basic issue of the Kashmir problem, there is no way you are ever going to have normalcy."

PTI