Is killing youth, looting banks solution to Kashmir problems: Mehbooba Mufti

Is killing of youth, looting banks and weapons a way forward on Kashmir resolution, the J&K Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti asked on Wednesday and urged people to “introspect and answer.”
“It is a tragedy. On the one hand, they (militants) propagate Kashmir issue and on the other, kill our youth who come from poor backgrounds and achieve something like the ‘martyr’ Fayaz did,” said Mehbooba while talking to media on the sidelines of the 2nd J&K Medical Science Congress 2017 and the first annual conference of MPPCOS Society here.
The Chief Minister was responding to a question over abduction and killing of an army officer Ummer Fayaz from south Kashmir’s Kulgam district by suspected militants on Wednesday. His bullet-riddled body was found early this morning in nearby Shopian district.
“He (Fayaz) became an Army officer at a very young age. But he was murdered ruthlessly. Similarly, policemen and bank employees were killed by militants earlier. This is the time for people to introspect and answer if this is the way forward for the resolution of Kashmir issue,” she asked. “Does solution of Kashmir lie in killing our youth, looting banks and weapons? Is this the solution of Kashmir issue?”
For the second time in less than a week, Mehbooba again hit out at New Delhi-based TV channels for “projecting Kashmir in a negative way.”
“I welcome participants from outside J&K who have come despite the propaganda we see on national media 24×7. I have been many times told by tourists who move around freely and ride ‘Shikaras’ that whether they had come to same Kashmir that is being described by this media,” said Mehbooba.
The venue for the “Health Congress”, scheduled from May 10 to May 13, is the SKICC on banks of the Dal Lake.
Mehbooba also talked of the “ailing lake” and hoped that someday experts from different fields from different states would help J&K to “cure the disease that Dal is suffering from.”
Earlier Mehbooba stressed on “collective and collaborative” efforts by researchers and medical practitioners to address the growing tendency of spread of non-communicable diseases (NCD). She emphasized on adopting preventive healthcare measures to minimize the growing spread of the lifestyle diseases rather than waiting for the curatives means.
The Chief Minister welcomed the delegates from outside the State and abroad and hoped that they would go back to their places as the “ambassadors of Kashmir.”
Minister for Health and Medical Education Bali Bhagat hoped the recommendations from the conference would be very useful in tackling the rising trend of non-communicable diseases.
Minister of State for Health and Medical Education, Asiea Naqash stressed on undertaking substantive research to know the preventive measures to be taken to arrest the growing trend of the diseases.
The Chief Minister felicitated renowned medical researchers Prof Robert Rosenfield, Prof Ghulam Jilani Mufti, Prof MS Khuroo and Prof Randeep Guleria for their outstanding contribution to their fields.
The Director General, ICMR, Dr Soumya Swaminathan, Director AIIMS, Prof Randeep Guleria and Director, SKIMS, Dr Ahangar and noted endocrinologists Ashraf Ganai, who is also the Convener of the Conference, and Dr Shariq Masoodi, also addressed the function. About 1000 delegates from within and outside the State and abroad are attending the conference in which around 10 international experts would be delivering lectures on various issues.