Jammu: Terming the problem of Jammu and Kashmir as an “incurable disease”, PDP president Mehbooba Mufti on Thursday said much like the Pakistani military leadership, the BJP seems not interested in its resolution to polarize the situation for votes in the country.
She advocated resolution of the issue in the larger interest of peace and said the abrogation of Article 370 granting special status to the region in August 2019 has not solved the problem but made the people of Jammu and Kashmir unhappy.
“Jammu and Kashmir problem is like an incurable disease which needs to be treated. How is it going to be treated? When you heal the wounds of the people and open the cross-LoC routes which you (BJP government) have closed (in 2019),” Mehbooba Mufti said, kick-starting the party’s membership drive from her party headquarters here.
The Centre suspended the cross-LoC trade and travel in April 2019 from the two designated points at Salamabad-Uri in north Kashmir and Chakan-Da-Bagh in Poonch, citing concerns about “illegal weapons, narcotics and fake currency” being transported into India.
“Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) and (Home Minister) Amit Shah are saying that everything is fine in J&K, then why not open the (cross-border routes). Let them come here and see the difference themselves. We have dozens of medical colleges and universities,” the former chief minister said.
However, Mufti alleged that the BJP wants to keep the problem of Jammu and Kashmir alive to strengthen its vote bank across the country.
“Just like the Pakistan military establishment wants to keep the pot boiling in Kashmir to maintain their importance, it seems the BJP also did not want to resolve the Kashmir problem. Mufti Mohammad Sayeed (Mehbooba’s father) used to say that BJP is a nationalist party because its leader and former prime minister A B Vajpayee did what no other leader had done. He (Vajpayee) brought general (Pervez Musharraf) to the table to bring peace and tranquility to Jammu and Kashmir,” the PDP leader said.
“If the issue of J&K suits the Pakistan Army, I think somewhere even the BJP hopes that there will be a blast or firing and someone is martyred so that they can create the Hindu-Muslim divide,” she added.
Criticising the BJP for the abrogation of Article 370, Mufti said the constitutional provision was like a security cover for the people of Jammu and Kashmir including Dogras, Kashmiris, Gujjars, Pahari and Sikhs as it was safeguarding the land and jobs for them.
“They have snatched this security cover and made us vulnerable. They know by removing Article 370 they have not solved the problem. Whenever there is tension, the home minister convenes a security review meeting in Delhi which has never happened in the past. They have a fear that the people in Jammu and Kashmir are not happy. A volcano is getting formed and it can explode any time,” she said.
Mufti accused the BJP of selling Article 370 abrogation to people in the country to garner votes in the elections.
Explaining her call for finding a solution to the Jammu and Kashmir problem, she said her party wants that no soldier dies in a blast like two army personnel, including a captain, lost their lives in Akhnoor sector on February 11, a few months before their marriages.
“Over a week ago, a young man committed suicide in Kathua after alleged police torture, while a truck driver was shot dead by the army in Baramulla…people are harassed on the pretext of fighting militancy in Kathua which is militancy-free,” said Mufti.
“After home minister, the Lt Governor is taking back-to-back security review meetings in Srinagar and Jammu. Why such meetings when there is no problem? Why is there no meeting on the problem of unemployment, drugs or growing crime in Jammu?” she asked.
Mehbooba Mufti praised her father’s “sharp vision” for advocating opening of the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad, Poonch-Rawalakot and Jammu-Sialkot roads and said this will be beneficial for people, especially in Jammu which is bound to suffer after Kashmir is connected directly to the rail network of the country.
Asking the people of Jammu and Kashmir to come together for resolution of the problem, she said “the people in Ladakh were demanding UT status prior to 2019 but today they are crying the most because the land and resources are being handed over to people from outside J&K.”
