Five per cent holding 95% to ransom in J&K: Mehbooba

Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti today called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his 7 Race Course Road residence to secure support for her government's efforts to resolve the ongoing crisis in the state that has entered 50th day.

This is the first time Mehbooba has met PM Modi after unrest broke out in the Valley last month.

Addressing the media after her meeting with the prime minister Mehbooba said that 95 per cent of people in the state wanted to resolve the Kashmir issue through political means and dialogue but five per cent misguided people were resorting to agitation.

Nearly 70 people have been killed in clashes with security forces since the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani on 8 July, fomented in large measure by Pakistan's support – both moral and material.

Mufti said the prime minister wanted an end to the cycle of violence in Kashmir. ''Like all of us, Prime Minister Modi is very concerned with the situation in Jammu and Kashmir,'' she said. She said an all-party delegation will reach Srinagar and make efforts to reach out to the people in the state.

The centre is reported to have told Mehbooba to take control of the law and order situation which is spiralling out of control. The union government also told the People's Democratic Party (PDP) chief that law and order is a state subject and it is for her government to maintain law and order.
 
"Mobiles and loudspeakers are being misused to incite violence," Modi told Mufti, according to CNN-News 18.

She slammed Pakistan for constantly attempting to derail peace measures between the two countries.

"Pakistan is not a stakeholder in Kashmir. They have no rights. Pakistan has been openly trying to provoke and fuel tensions in the Valley. ''Mujhe khushi hai ki Modi ji ne na sirf pehle apni oath ceremony mein Nawaz Sharif sahab ko bulaya, balki khud Lahore chale gaye. Par badkismati ke sath uske baad Pathankot hua (I was very happy when PM Modi invited Nawaz Sharif during his swearing-in ceremony in 2014, and also went to Lahore. But unfortunately, right after that came the Pathankot massacre).

"Sadly, Pakistan has repeatedly wasted chances to talk and resolve issues. Pichle dinon Kashmir mein haalaat kharab hue, aur Pakistan khulke haalaat ko theek karne ke bajaaye, koshish kar rahe the provocation ho (In the last few days when situation in Kashmir worsened, Pakistan, instead of resolving or helping to resolve the issue, was trying to provoke the youth from across the border)."

Although Mufti did not mention any security measures that will be taken by the state or the central governments to quell the violence and unrest in Kashmir, she blamed Pakistan and its stooges in Kashmir for trying to thwart peace talks with India to keep alive their Kashmir agenda.

She justified the curfew imposed in the Valley saying, "Curfew is to save lives. What else can we do? Pakistan is provoking Kashmiri youth and it bothers me that children are being used for this purpose."

As a mother it bothers me that people tell children, "go stone a police station." That will not solve the issue, said Mufti. Instead of sacrificing the innocent poor, she said, the separatists should come forward and help in saving lives of the innocent youth.

''Our children are being misled to become human shields,'' she said.

She had said "Today 95 per cent who have been killed are youngsters belonging to poor families. They were killed in retaliation for attacking security camps... The situations of 2010 and present cannot be compared."

Mufti had strongly defended security forces action yesterday during a press conference when she said "People came on streets, we imposed curfew. Did the children go to army camps to buy toffees (candy)? Was the 15-year-old boy, who attacked the police station at Damhal Hanjipora (in south Kashmir), going there to get milk..."

Mehbooba also called for talks between interlocutors and all stakeholders on the Kashmir issue to carry forward former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's policy of a dialogue internally as well as with Pakistan. "Please appoint a group of individuals on whom people of Kashmir have trust, that whatever they are saying will reach to people at the helm of affairs in Delhi," she said.

Mufti also urged the separatists to end violence in the valley. "Separatists should come forward and help Jammu and Kashmir government in saving innocent lives," she said.