Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti has called on India’s Modi regime to end the spectre of war and crackdown on people of Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
Mehbooba Mufti addressing a party meeting in Srinagar said, “We must end the spectre of war so that people can plan their lives and revive the economy. [Occupied] Jammu and Kashmir should be a bridge of understanding, friendship, and cooperation — not a theatre for war”.
The PDP chief also expressed concern over the “ongoing crackdown” in the territory. “Our youth are being jailed and Public Safety Acts are being misused. If such draconian measures were truly effective, incidents like Pahalgam would not have occurred. If the goal is to fight militancy, don’t wage war against the poor people of J&K, many of whom are languishing in jails outside the state.” Mehbooba also took a dig at the National Conference (NC), pointing out their constant “attempts to appease BJP at the cost of people’s interests and their own mandate.”
“The same minister who introduced the Waqf Bill was later welcomed and garlanded in Kashmir by the NC leadership. The NC, despite having 50 MLAs, didn’t even allow a resolution to be passed in the Assembly against the Waqf amendment,” she said.
Mufti also criticised remarks by NC, which she said, hailed the move to put the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance. “When the Indus Waters Treaty was put in abeyance by the Government of India, it was Chief Minister Omar Abdullah who hailed the move and even advocated for an immediate halt to water supplies to Pakistan,” she said.
“We may have political differences with the Government of Pakistan, but not with its people. It is saddening that such remarks are being made by the leader of the only Muslim-majority state.”
