SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Wednesday asserted that state police has an important role in creating a conducive and good atmosphere for sustained talks on the valley state, announced by the central government and directed the police not to target the militant families.
“The NDA government recently announced holding of sustained dialogue on Kashmir by appointing an interlocutor. The process has been started to resume dialogue. To make this reconciliation process a success, J&K police has to play a key role,” Mehbooba said while speaking at the passing out parade at the police training centre at Manigam in central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district.
She said people of India voted for Modi in 2014 and gave him mandate to end the bloodshed in the state.
“The central government has taken a bold and major step in recent times to reach out to the people of the State and get them out of the turmoil.”
Mehbooba said that the police has a big and important role in creating a conducive and good atmosphere for talks.
“The initiative needs to be made successful by providing a positive atmosphere on the ground,” she said and directed police to play its role by acting as an element of public reassurance.
“It is important how you perform your duty. Although there is no denial to the fact that you face challenges at every front but you should act as a law-abiding agency,” she said.
On Monday, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh announced a sustained dialogue process with all stakeholders in Kashmir and appointed a former IB director Dineshwar Sharma as interlocutor.
Mehbooba said PM Modi appointed a Sharma as an interlocutor and gave him cabinet secretary rank. “It has never happened in the past.”
“If you have to wipe out militancy, then you have to play a positive role in J&K. You are following the law and implementing it but before enforcing it, you will have to yourself follow it,” the CM told new police recruits.
“You have not to do what militants are doing. There should be a difference in approach of police and security forces and that of militants,” she said.
Referring to recent militant attacks on police officers and political workers in Valley, Mehbooba said, “The political workers and police officers were attacked. One of our workers was killed and his house set on fire”.
She told police and security force that they should not follow the militants. “Police and other security agencies are a disciplined and lab abiding force”.
“I want to thrust that there should be a difference in police and militants approach. Militants come and kill political workers and policemen. They barge into houses of policemen and political workers and harass their families and ransack the houses. We should not do it,” she said.
Talking tough, Mehbooba said, “I should not hear any complaint against police.”
“I should not hear that the policemen attacked houses of militant and harassed his family after not finding a militant in the house. They should not ransack the houses of militants. They should not do it”.
She advised police to adopt a healing touch approach while dealing with the situation in the State.
“While chronic criminal elements need to be dealt with firmly, care should be taken that innocent civilians are not put to any inconvenience,” she said.
The CM advised police to make efforts to persuade alienated youth to join back mainstream society rather than going for a violent friction.
“Police should ensure that local militants surrender,” she said.