Centre’s Kashmir policy has backfired to an extent that it made Delhi unsafe, alleges Mehbooba Mufti

The PDP chief said Kashmiris had long aligned themselves with India, but the government’s post-2019 approach had only shut doors of dialogue and pushed the region into deeper distress.

Srinagar: Opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) president and former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Monday claimed that the Centre’s Kashmir policy had backfired to an extent that it had now made Delhi unsafe, referring to the recent explosion near the Red Fort that killed 13 people and left several injured.

Speaking at a working group meeting of her party in Srinagar, she said the government had assured the world that everything was normal in Kashmir, “but the troubles of Kashmir echoed right in front of the Red Fort.”

Mehbooba said Kashmiris had long aligned themselves with India, but the government’s post-2019 approach had only shut doors of dialogue and pushed the region into deeper distress.

“We too live in this country. Kashmiris have attached themselves to this country. So, for God’s sake, change your policy. After 2019, all the doors were closed. There is no dialogue. Only UAPA, PSA, SIA, SUI and raids and arrests. Without this, nothing happens in J&K,” she said.

The firebrand PDP chief urged the Centre to “revisit its Kashmir policy” and open channels of communication to heal the wounds of people. She said that despite repeated claims of peace, the Red Fort blast and its fallout had created a renewed atmosphere of fear across Jammu and Kashmir, particularly in the Valley.

According to her, the shock among locals deepened after it emerged that the alleged suspect in the incident, Dr Umar, who died in the explosion, was an educated Kashmiri. “When our educated youth, doctors — the cream of the society — prefer death over life, then it is a very serious matter for all of us,” she said.

Mehbooba added that the Centre must reflect on why “youth who earlier used to pick up stones and guns have now become suicide bombers,” describing the trend as a dangerous consequence of alienation after the abrogation of Article 370.

“The peoples’ rights were taken away in 2019 and J&K was turned into an open jail. You know you have cheated people of Jammu and Kashmir after 70 years,” she remarked.

The former CM warned that the narrative emerging after the attack was making ordinary Kashmiris feel as though the entire community was under suspicion. “There is so much fear right now in the Valley, as if all Kashmiris were involved in the blast. Such a situation has been created as though every Kashmiri is responsible,” she said, cautioning that such generalisation could further estrange young people.

Mehbooba also cited the recent incident in Qazigund where a father set himself ablaze after his son and brother were arrested by police in connection with the Delhi blast. She said whether the family members had any role in the case was for the investigating agency to decide, but the tragedy could have been avoided. “If that father was allowed to meet his son for two minutes, he wouldn’t have resorted to the extreme step,” she said.

The former CM cautioned agencies against harassment of families of those detained, saying crime had not yet been proven but their parents and relatives were already being subjected to scrutiny and social pressure. Such measures, she said, would only widen the trust deficit between people and the government.

Mehbooba argued that the Centre’s approach had created an environment of polarisation rather than security, and that political messaging focused on communal divisions was undermining national stability.

“You promised to make Jammu and Kashmir safe, but your policies have now made Delhi unsafe,” she said, adding that unless the government shifted from a security-heavy approach to one rooted in dialogue, the cycle of violence and suspicion would only deepen.

Reiterating that the only sustainable path to peace lay in rebuilding trust, she said, “The wounds of the people cannot be healed through force. Dialogue is the only way forward.”