Help govt end violence, appeals Chief Minister

Says she can understand anger of youth and is looking forward to better future for them

Asserting that various measures are being taken to restore calm, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti has sought people’s cooperation in restoration of peace and normalcy in Kashmir to prevent further loss of precious lives and destruction of public and private property.
She said this while interacting with representatives of various civil society groups and prominent citizens here today.
“I appeal to all sections of society, including political leaders, media, religious heads, business community and prominent citizens, to rise to the occasion and help the government in restoring peace and normalcy in Kashmir in the wake of the prevailing law and order situation,” the Chief Minister said.
The Chief Minister said the police and paramilitary forces had been asked to exercise maximum restraint to avoid loss of lives or grievous injuries.
“My heart goes out to families of the youth, including civilians and policemen, who lost their lives in the latest spate of violence. We have already lost a generation to bloodshed and violence and can’t afford to live amidst prevailing political uncertainties with young boys getting killed every day,” she said.
Mehbooba lamented that some elements were hell bent upon fomenting trouble, mayhem and bloodshed in Kashmir for their vested interests and had been playing with the lives of innocent youth by instigating them to indulge in extreme violence, resulting in a vicious cycle of frenzy and bloodshed.
Mehbooba said while certain quarters were only interested in playing politics over the dead bodies of the youth, it was the family members of these slain youth who had to live with this pain forever.
“Ironically, it is only the parents and other immediate family members of these ill-fated youth who have to live with the life-long trauma of losing their near and dear ones to this senseless violence,” she said. Mehbooba added that there were hundreds of families in Kashmir who had lost their near and dear ones to violence and had been left at the mercy of God. “Most of these families are living in such miserable conditions that they have to struggle for day-to-day living,” she said.
Saying hundreds and thousands of people might attend the funerals of the slain youth, she asked, “Tell me how many of these people then bother to visit these anguished families to help them out of difficult circumstances?”
The Chief Minister said the government was alive to the abject condition of such distressed families. “We will try to work out a mechanism to ensure a secure and dignified living for the kith and kin of victims of violence so that their families don’t have to run from pillar to post to live a normal life,” she said. She added that it was the responsibility of the government to reach out to such families.
She said the deteriorating law and order situation had given a huge blow to the local economy, which had just started picking up with encouraging tourist arrivals. “The development process has been hit and it will take some time to get things back on the rails,” she said.
The Chief Minister said imposing restrictions in the prevailing circumstances had become an inevitability to avoid violent protests and consequent loss of precious human lives. “We prefer imposing restrictions rather than putting lives of people at risk,” she said. “I appeal to all people to cooperate in restoration of peace for the sake of people of Kashmir and their well-being,” she added.
Referring to the problems of the youth, the Chief Minister said; “They are angry and I can understand their anger. We are looking forward to a better future for them by exploring ways and means of providing them productive employment.”
She said the problem of unemployment had critical dimensions as it had the potential of impeding the peace process if not seriously and urgently addressed.
“The government recognises that there is a need to increase the economic space of the state, enhance its resource base and generate greater capacity of economy in various key sectors to meet the challenge of unemployment,” she said.