NEW DELHI: The newly-appointed Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan on Sunday said that Pakistan used the "skeleton" of Article 370 to promote separatism and terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir.
Speaking to ANI, Khan said, "Pakistan used the skeleton of Article 370 to create and promote separatism. They used it to promote terrorism. We have been facing the terror from the last 30 years."
Extolling the incumbent government for revoking the special status accorded to Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370, he said that the extraordinary situation created by Pakistan called for an extraordinary step.
"The whole world knows that terrorists were coming from across the border and running training camps there (Kashmir). We are not dealing with a local problem, but a problem created unfortunately by our hostile neighbour," he scoffed.
The 68-year-old leader highlighted the importance of Kashmir and called it a crown on the country's head. "We cannot think India's civilization without Kashmir," Khan added.
On being asked why the opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, were stopped from visiting Kashmir, he said that some time must be given to let the situation attain normalcy.
He also came down heavily on the late Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed for encouraging the terrorism in the state by badly managing the kidnapping of his daughter Rubaiya Sayeed.