Mehbooba appeals youth to shun violence and protest by democratic means
By: Tariq Shah VOV
Srinagar
Former chief minister and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president, Mehbooba Mufti on Monday said that youth of Kashmir should shun the path of violence and start protests through democratic means peacefully.
She said that violence has no place in the world and the youth of Kashmir must understand that they can fight for their rights by the democratic means in a peaceful manner.
Reacting to the abrogation of article 370 by the BJP government at the centre she said that by snatching the rights of people of Jammu and Kashmir the central government has also thrashed the accession between the union of India and state of Jammu and Kashmir.
According to the KNO, Mehbooba was addressing a gathering during membership drive here in Srinagar, Mehbooba as per the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) said that the decision taken by the central government on 5 August, 2019 is not acceptable and the rights and identity snatched from the people here must be restored.
“Those who have turned Jammu and Kashmir into jail must bear in mind that we don’t accept the decision taken by the government. We will fight for our rights till our last breath. Even if a journalist speaks anything, he is being called and subsequently booked under UAPA,” she said.
“It is not Pakistan but India who had given us the special status. I don’t understand why BJP is getting angry why I am asking my country to restore the identity and special status of Jammu and Kashmir. The government has put an end to the agreement between J-K and the Union of India, but still, it is the people of J-K who are holding the hand of India. And when we raise any objection, we are being asked to stay calm,” she said, adding that the situation in Jammu – Kashmir and Ladakh is very critical.
She added that PDP has always played a role in ensuring peace in Jammu and Kashmir, saying that the party’s aim is to make J-K a bridge for peace in South Asia and want J-K to become a model of peace in South Asia.
“As SAARC summit is set to be held in Pakistan, we hope our Prime Minister will go there as there is no other way besides dialogue to resolve the issues,” she added.
Talking to media persons on the sidelines of the function, Mehbooba said that any movement with guns is bound to fail, saying that this is why she has been appealing to the Kashmiri youth not to lose their lives due to bullets. “If we want to resolve the Kashmir issue, we need to follow democratic way and force the twin neighboring countries including India and Pakistan to hold dialogue,” she said.
“Some people want Kashmiri youth to pick up arms to show the world that they (Kashmiris) are terrorists and there are no issues with them, thus we need to follow democratic means to resolve our issues,” she said.
Asked about silence in PAGD, Mehbooba as per KNO Correspondent said that the conglomerate has a great role to play, saying that PAGD is still intact. “If PAGD is not there then who will talk about the issues of J-K people. Dr Farooq Abdullah’s health condition was not good, thus no meeting was held so far,” she said.
About the delimitation process in J-K, Mehbooba said that the central government will always try to keep the power of J-K into their hands so that they can take any decision vis-à-vis UT directly from Delhi. She said the central government wants to execute their decisions without the interference of local government here, and thus don’t want elections to be conducted soon.
With inputs from KNO
