SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Tuesday urged youth of the State to support the PDP-BJP coalition government for their secure future and asserted that if the youth give up stone pelting they would becoming No 1 in the entire world.
“The alliance between PDP and BJP in J&K was stitched for welfare of youth and getting the State out of its difficulties,” Mehbooba said while addressing a youth convention of her party, PDP, here.
Urging youth to support her government in realizing its political and developmental agenda, she said the objective for forming the coalition government with BJP was to ensure youth of the State a secure future by way of political stability and economic prosperity.
Mehbooba asked youth to play a positive role by helping her government in maintaining peace in the State so that the government is able to pursue the agenda of development and discourse in the State.
The youth should get themselves associated with the decision-making process in the State and join the forthcoming Panchayat elections in good numbers, she said.
The CM said her government would review the cases of the youth, who were not seriously involved in any anti-social activity and also the families of the affected youth would also be given proper rehabilitation.
Over 8000 youth were arrested and booked in cases during over five-month long unrest in Kashmir last year after killing of Kashmir militancy’s poster boy and Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani on July 8, 2016. Most of the arrested youth have been released but cases have been not withdrawn against any of them sofar.
“When I used to visit villages, you used to be my bodyguards, police and security forces. The youth who used to be my security, my PSO have stones in their hands today,” Mehbooba told the youth.
She said she feels bad for the killings and injuries of the children.
“I feel bad, my family is you people. You made me Mehbooba Mufti. You gave me dignity and sacrificed for me when at Uri chalo, Muzafffarbad road, 14 youth like you sacrificed their lives for it,” she said.
Mehbooba said if they (youth) do not take stones, they can become No 1 in entire world.
The stone pelting incidents are on rise in the Valley and the youth have been pelting stones on security men during anti-militancy operations launched by security forces.
Regretting that the dialogue process in the State got stuck during the last decade or so and youth of the State had to pay a heavy price for this political drought, she asked the youth to factor in their role in this whole canvas by ensuring peace and harmony in the State.
This, she said, automatically results in creating a congenial atmosphere of friendship between the two countries as the situation in Jammu and Kashmir has a direct bearing on the relations between India and Pakistan.
Peace in the State alone can ensure that political process takes off and more opportunities of employment for the youth are created, she said.
Lauding Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his outreach to Pakistan, Mehbooba said, “It was satisfying to see PM taking up the threads to reach out to Pakistan by first inviting its Prime Minister to his swearing in and later visiting the country in December 2015 though it could not be done during the decade-long rule of the previous regime in New Delhi”.
“Though the effort hasn’t yet delivered, but we are hopeful that we would be able to embark on a path of reconciliation and friendship which is in the ultimate interests of people of both the countries,” she said.