Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Monday said that this is the best time for India to hold a dialogue with Pakistan, as its Prime Minister Imran Khan is being labelled a “proxy” of the army.

“If Imran is a proxy of the Pakistan Army then this is the best time to talk,” the Peoples Democratic Party leader said at the Agenda Aaj Tak event in New Delhi, PTI reported. “When Imran Khan says he is ready to talk, to open corridors, then I think the Army is also on the same page. The talks could be beneficial now....why should we not talk?”

Mufti said the “best bargain” for India with regard to the Kashmir matter was when Pervez Musharraf was Pakistan’s president, because a ceasefire was launched during this time, and the Muzaffarabad border opened up.

The former chief minister also asserted that the Peoples Democratic Party will cooperate with any other party which seeks a “resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir issue”. “If we can join hands with the Bharatiya Janata Party, we can do so with anyone for resolution of the matter,” she added.

But the former chief minister also said that entering an alliance with the BJP had been “suicidal” and she was “disappointed” that the coalition did not work. “The BJP didn’t teach me any lesson,” she asserted. “I stood my ground.” The BJP quit the alliance in June, leading to the fall of the government and imposition of Governor’s Rule in Jammu and Kashmir.

Mufti also claimed that there is a “huge difference” between the former Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led National Democratic Alliance government, and the one led by Narendra Modi. “Vajpayee was spontaneous and down to earth...he never looked back or over his shoulder,” she asserted. “He was a statesman. Today’s NDA is more focused in winning elections. God save! They have not given voting rights to cows!”