Mehbooba appeals to Kashmir youth to stay away from guns

Some people want Kashmiri youth to pick up arms to show the world that they (Kashmiris) are terrorists, the former CM said

PDP president and former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister, Mehbooba Mufti on Monday appealed to youth to stay away from guns and fight for their rights in a democratic way.

“Any movement with guns is bound to fail. This is the reason I have been appealing to the Kashmiri youth not to lose their lives due to bullets,” she told reporters on the sidelines of a party’s membership drive, here.

“Some people want Kashmiri youth to pick up arms to show the world that they (Kashmiris) are terrorists. (But) we need to follow democratic means to resolve our issues,” she said. “If we want to resolve the Kashmir issue, we need to follow democratic way and force India and Pakistan to hold dialogue.”

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The firebrand PDP president claimed that the accession between J&K and Union of India had been trashed in August 2019 by the BJP-led regime at the Centre. “5 August 2019 decision is not acceptable and the rights and identity snatched from the people here must be restored. We will fight for our rights till our last breath,” Mehbooba vowed.

The former chief minister said that it was not Pakistan but India which had given J&K special status. “I don’t understand why BJP is getting angry when I am asking my country to restore the identity and special status of Jammu and Kashmir,” she said.

“The government has put an end to the agreement between J&K and Union of India, but still it is the people of J&K who are holding the hand of India. And when we raise any objection, we are being asked to stay calm,” she said, adding that the situation in Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh is very critical.

Mehbooba hoped that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the SAARC summit to be held in Pakistan. “There is no other way besides dialogue to resolve the issues,” she added.