SRINAGAR: PDP chief and former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti has come under fire for her remarks at a CJP protest on the use of pellet guns in Kashmir, where she said their use in the Valley was "banta hai" (understandable) given the militancy situation. The ruling National Conference has demanded that she apologise for the statement.
Apni Party President and former minister Altaf Bukhari lashed out at Mehbooba Mufti over her remarks branding Kashmiri protesters as militants.
"She first went to Jantar Mantar to appease Congress leaders. Now, by branding Kashmir's protesters as militants, she seems equally eager to appease her masters in the BJP. That's what opportunistic politics looks like," he said.
After meeting the CJP protesters at Jantar Mantar earlier this week, Mehbooba said there was no justification for using pellet guns against protesters in Delhi. However, she argued that their use in Kashmir was justified due to militancy, saying security forces there face militants, whereas there are no militants here at Jantar Mantar.
Video clip of her statement has gone viral on social media, and it has evoked strong criticism from ruling NC and other Kashmir-based parties.
NC chief spokesman Tanvir Sadiq said Mehbooba's attempt to rationalise use of force against Kashmiri protesters by casually portraying them as militants is not merely insensitive but a brazen endorsement of a policy that left thousands blinded, maimed and traumatised.
Hundreds of Kashmiri youth sustained pellet injuries during the tenure of Mehbooba Mufti as CM from 2016-2018.
"For the mothers who lost their sons, the youth who lost their eyesight to pellets, and families whose lives were shattered, there is nothing that 'banta hai' about state excesses. Such remarks amount to adding insult to injury," NC spokesman said.
He said those blinded by pellets are asking Mehbooba Mufti whether their suffering was also 'banta hai'. “The children who lost their parents, the parents who buried their young sons, and the thousands left scarred for life are all asking her the same question. The people will never allow the truth of 2016 to be whitewashed”.
Sadiq said no amount of political posturing, selective outrage or revisionist narratives can erase the scars of 2016. “History cannot be whitewashed through convenient rhetoric."
"Nothing short of a clear and unequivocal apology to the people of Kashmir will suffice,” the NC spokesman said.
Awami Ittehad Party (AIP) Chief Spokesperson Inam Un Nabi accused Mehbooba of displaying "breath-taking political hypocrisy".
"When force is used in Delhi, she calls it oppression. When Kashmiris faced similar measures, she found explanations and justifications. This selective morality is not only indefensible but deeply insulting to people of J&K," he said."
He added, "The tears of a Kashmiri mother whose son was blinded or jailed are no less valuable than those of any parent elsewhere in the country."
Inam said Kashmir witnessed widespread pellet injuries, mass detentions, crackdowns and an atmosphere of fear during the PDP-BJP government.
"It was during her tenure that students who raised their voices were met with coercive measures instead of dialogue. Instead of listening to the aspirations of young people, the response was suppression," he added.