SRINAGARl: With Kashmir on edge over civilian killings and students continuing anti-government protests, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday asserted that if anybody can solve the Kashmir issue, it is Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the whole country would support his decision.
“If anybody can solve the Kashmir issue it is Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” Mehbooba said while addressing a gathering of people after inaugurating a flyover in Jammu, winter capital of the State.
She said only PM Modi can help people of Jammu and Kashmir in these troubling circumstances and take them out of morass.
He (PM) has got a strong mandate and whatever decision he takes, people of the country will support it.
Mehbooba during her meeting with Prime Minister recently in national capital had pitched for talks with separatists and stone pelters. However, the central government has made it clear that there won’t be any talks with separatists and stone pelters.
Mehbooba’s party PDP has virtually lost its support base in south Kashmir after over five months of unrest last year. There is considerable anger against Mehbooba and her party in Valley for civilian killings by security forces during the unrest and her alliance with the saffron party.
She now totally banks on PM Modi’s support for regaining her support base in the Valley.
The J&K CM praised PM’s courage of taking the risk of visiting Pakistan on December 25, 2015.
“The PM Modi took the decision and visited Pakistan and met his counterpart. It is the sign of strength and courage and not the sign of weakness,” she said.
Indirectly referring to ex-Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Mehbooba said the former PM also wished to visit Pakistan but did not dare to do so.
“He (the former PM) also would have tried to end the confrontation between the two countries and bring J&K out of this unfortunate situation, but he had no courage to do that,” she said.
Mehbooba said the situation in Kashmir is not good and blamed the previous Congress-led UPA government in the centre for the prevailing anger and alienation among people in Kashmir.
The situation in Kashmir is tense especially after killing of eight civilians in security forces firing on protesters during by-polls to Srinagar parliamentary seat on April 9. The tension further escalated after security forces conducted a raid on a college in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district on April 15. Since then Kashmir has been witnessing nearly daily student protests.
Even today students staged massive protests in Handwara area of border district of Kuwpara. The students clashed with the security personnel and in retaliatory action by cops, over 40 students were injured.
“The UPA government did not continue the reconciliation policy started by previous NDA government led by Atal Bihari Vajapayee in Jammu and Kashmir during her father Mufti Mohammad Sayeed's rule from 2002-2005,” Mehbooba said.
According to her, Vajpayee and her father tried to resolve the Kashmir but unfortunately no efforts were made by UPA-I and UPA –II governments in centre.
“The UPA governments at the centre and the state government did not carry forward the dialogue process presuming that everything is peaceful in the State and nothing needs to be done,” she said.
On recent incident of cow vigilantes attacking a nomad family in Reasi district of Jammu province in which five people were injured, Mehbooba said nobody would be allowed to disturb the peaceful atmosphere and mischief mongers would be dealt with sternly.
“Whosoever takes law in own hands would be dealt with appropriately and cautioned people against nefarious designs of some negative elements who want to derail the developmental process in the province by creating an atmosphere of hate,” she added.