Start talks with Pakistan, Open cross-border roads: Mehbooba Mufti

Peoples Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti on Monday asserted that the dialogue with Pakistan and the stakeholders within J&K and opening of cross-border roads to bring the divided parts together can bring peace and everlasting solution to the Kashmir problem.

BJP to meet same electoral fate as Trump
When oppression increases, it soon vanishes too. Today is their (BJP’s) time and tomorrow, our time will come. The same thing will happen to them (BJP) what happened to Trump (who lost the US presidential election last week). – Mehbooba Mufti, PDP Chief

Mehbooba Mufti made the assertion while advising the BJP to take a leaf out of former Prime Minister AB Vajpayee’s book.

The former Chief Minister warned that militancy was on the rise in the Valley with more youths preferring “militancy over going to jail” after “no middle path was left and voices of dissent silenced through the muzzle of power”.

“Attempts are being made to vitiate the atmosphere by politics of hatred and division. The people like us are facing problems to live in Kashmir due to an increase in militancy under their (BJP) rule. They were saying militancy has finished but the reality is that at least 10 to 15 youth are joining militancy from each village,” Mehbooba told reporters here at the end of her five-day visit to Jammu.

She said the militancy is on the rise because “you (BJP) have silenced all the voices and not left the middle path for the people. The youth is thinking of two options — whether to go to jail or pick up the gun — and he chooses later to get killed rather than going to the jail.” Mehbooba said the situation on the borders was of concern to the people as local residents were living under the constant threat to their lives due to the continued cross-border shelling.

Asked how it is possible when there is no let-up in Pakistani shelling and mounting civilian casualties, she said, “We have to pick up a leaf from former Prime Minister AB Vajpayee’s book. Despite the Kargil war and Parliament attack, he entered into a friendship with Pakistan as a result of which the militancy had come down and the border firing also had stopped,” she said.