* Education suffers badly due to unrest
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Aug 22: In a scathing attack on “handful of people” for making Kashmiri children as shield during attacks on security force camps and police stations, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti today said 95 per cent Kashmiris can’t be punished for five per cent people engaged in triggering this violent unrest.
“I have a request for Central leadership that you have to take care of 95 per cent people and see how to bring them out of this misfortune. The 95 per cent Kashmiris can’t be punished for five per cent people (engaged in triggering this unrest)”, Mehbooba said addressing the gathering after inauguration of Sewage Treatment Plant at Bhagwati Nagar in the presence of Deputy Chief Minister Dr Nirmal Singh.
Mehbooba said “the Central Government and the Congress, which has been making a lot of hue and cry on Kashmiris’ rights now, should work together to formulate some kind of mechanism to bring out 95 per cent people of the Kashmir out of this troubled situation”.
She said “I want to tell New Delhi leadership that they should not view Kashmiri people with one view and at this point of time 95 percent of the people want to send their children to the schools, want to work, and want to earn their livelihood, but a handful of people (are out to spoil the situation)”.
Hitting out at handful of vested interests, Mehbooba said that children and women are made shields and are incited to attack security forces camps and police stations which result in loss of their lives.
“But these handfuls are not coming out in open instead they have made youth and children as their shields. They want women and the children to be shield and get them killed as they don’t have any concern for their lives”, she said.
Mehbooba said the people, who are vitiating the environment and creating unrest in the region, are not Kashmiris.
“The people of Jammu and Kashmir know what ‘azadi’ is. These few people want to vitiate the environment of peace because the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) – People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Government is doing good work and they have began to deliver,” she said.
“If you want to protest then why small children are taken to security forces camps and police stations and are pushed into by inciting for attacks by petrol bombs. These people create sentiments among the mob and then run away and allow them to die,” she added.
“We have never seen this type of situation as you (these people) have taken children to attack police stations and snatch weapons and throw petrol bombs on them. You go to CRPF camps with children and you escape from there after inciting the mob of these children and raise their sentiments for entering into the camp. You escape from there and the result was whether it was pellet gun firing or rifle firing the children’s got killed”.
The Chief Minister said “the children, who should have been with their parents… in the lap of their mothers—have been made shield by defying curfews and restrictions for attacking camps and police stations”.
Narrating the events leading to unrest, she said “we shifted from Jammu to Srinagar, held peaceful Assembly session and were faced with Handwara episode where we wanted to ensure peace then the issues were racked up one or the other colony. I mean to say that some people were waiting in wings to get some type of excuse (to derail peace and normalcy in Jammu and Kashmir)”.
“Whenever the situation in Jammu and Kashmir becomes normal, tourism gets back on track and people get engaged into their jobs and trades, there is some or the other trouble instigated”, she said. Before this time in Kashmir, there was a huge footfall of tourists in Kashmir valley, yatra started in a big way and we tried to provide better infrastructure, including power supply, ration”, she said.
“We introduced a policy for ensuring that every individual gets his or her share of foods and we thought after the conclusion of the Assembly session we will start this work. The Assembly session concluded I got the results (of victory in Assembly elections) and then what has happened you all know”, she said.
Mehbooba ruled out that 2010 unrest was similar to 2016 unrest.
“Some people point out that it is a similar to 2010. But, in 2010, three people were picked up and killed in fake encounter at one place (Machil), the people got angry. In 2010 allegations were leveled about rape of two women in Shopian and in the continued violent unrest, some boy got killed when he was hit by a shell (that triggered 2010 unrest)”, she said.
Mehbooba said “but today nothing of such thing happened. Neither any civilian was caught and killed nor did any access take place to any child.
“One encounter took place and three militants were killed in some area and there is no reason for anger as encounters keep happening and this has been happening for the last 25 years”, she said.
The Chief Minister blamed some handful of people for the 2016 unrest without naming them.
“Why I am saying so, because some people were waiting to get some excuse to put Jammu and Kashmir in the same fire and this is their task. These are the handful of people”, she said.
She added: “I want to tell people of Jammu they are not a huge number. Most of the Kashmiri people are peace loving people and they want progress and resolution of the problem and what these handful of people are doing, they are not with them. They are totally against them”.
She further said that they (people of Kashmir) are reasonable and they understand that the freedom which India has is nowhere in the countries which considered themselves as independence.
In indirect attack on Opposition without naming them, she said: “some people thought that this PDP-BJP Government will carry forward the agenda of previous Mufti Mohammad Sayeed Government in Jammu and Kashmir towards development, peace, progress and prosperity by opening new routes between two sides of LoC and strengthen the cross border trade and travel. The attempts (to disturb peace) were first made from Handwara to trigger unrest but the people did not respond”.
“When they thought it is happening and they got an excuse (during Burhan’s encounter). Otherwise there have been hundreds of encounters till now and hundreds of security forces, militants and policemen and innocent people were killed”, the Chief Minister said.
She said she will fight to end the practice of making civilian as human shield during encounter and search by Army and police in the past.
“During previous period, security forces and police used to take people along with themselves during search operations and the people were fearing that if there are militants inside, they can fire on them and they will get killed”, she said.
“I fought with security forces, STF and the Government that you cannot make those people shields, but today we have removed the fear among the youth that nobody can touch you whether Army, police and security forces if you are on the right path”, she said.
“But some selfish and vested interest people have made the children as human shields and forced them to enter into camps and police stations and resorted to stone pelting and the result was that 60 people including the children have lost their lives and hundreds have been injured”, she said.
She said that in this a large number of police and security forces have also got injured and it proves that how much security forces and police have exercised restrained. “A large number of injuries of security personnel was clear indication of the restraint exercised by them,’’ she added.
“But some handful of people have felt perturbed that if this Government became stable and worked in direction of development on Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s agenda, it will difficult for them”, she said.
She further said that a handful of people came out and spoiled the entire situation. “Please don’t have impression that Kashmiri people are like this but Kashmiri people are not like this”.
“When Kashmiri people thought that their children are not safe in Kashmir, they have sent them to different parts of the country to study, if Kashmiris would have not the trust on the country, why should have they sent their children to study in different parts of the country”, Mehbooba said.
Mehbooba further said “If they would have not trust on their own country, they would have sent their children to Afghanistan, it means that the people of Kashmir are not wrong but a handful of people who are in opportunity to disturb peace”.
Actor Salman Khan last year was in Kashmir to shoot for his film ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’, but this year he preferred to go to Ladakh due to prevailing tension, she said claiming that violence had hit the tourism industry, thus affecting the economy of the State.
Meanwhile, in a brief chat with media after the function, Mehbooba said she found nothing wrong in opposition leaders meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the situation in the Valley, saying it would be a good thing if some solution could be found through such initiatives.
“We live in a democratic set-up. If opposition leaders meet the Prime Minister or the President, if some solution can be found, it is a good thing,” she said when asked to comment on the meeting that leaders of National Conference, Congress and some other opposition parties had with Modi in Delhi.
“There is so much of bloodshed and loss of lives and property (in the Valley). If they (opposition parties) think they can find a solution by this, it is a good thing,” she added.
She said peace and normalcy in the Valley was the utmost priority and if that would be restored, the meeting was welcome.
She said the PDP-BJP Government was focusing on promoting the tourism sector and for that matter major steps were being taken.
She also lauded the people of Jammu district and thanked them for setting an example of secularism and harmony.
“Replying to slogans and stone pelting in a similar manner is not secularism, but the way people of Jammu acted and stayed calm is the real contribution towards an atmosphere of peace,” said Ms Mufti.
She also cautioned people of forces which could try to divide the people on regional and communal lines and appealed to them to have patience.
Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh also spoke on the occasion and highlighted the upcoming projects to be undertaken by the PDP-BJP coalition Government for an overall development of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh.
Earlier, Mehbooba called for reaching out to the people of Jammu and Kashmir through substantive political and economic measures to address anger and alienation and find a lasting solution to the problems confronting the State.
“The prevailing painful situation in Kashmir necessitates reaching out to all shades of the political opinion in the State and initiating substantive political and economic measures to revive and consolidate the peace and resolution process,” the Chief Minister said in her address.
She said that the political leadership in New Delhi and within the State must jointly work towards initiating the confidence building measures to respond to the people’s innermost yearning for peace with dignity. “The renewed trust people of the State have time and again reposed in the democratic institutions, offers an opportunity to work through peaceful and reconciliatory means towards addressing all the dimensions of the Kashmir issue in a manner that balances and promotes enduring political and economic stability in the State,” she said and added that her Government visualizes a space of dignity, opportunity and prosperity for the peace-loving people of Jammu & Kashmir.
Maintaining that violence in any form only brings miseries to the people and is not a means to seek resolution of problems, Mehbooba reiterated that solution can only be found through democratic and political means involving engagement and dialogue.
“Time has come for the State’s political leadership, cutting across the divide, to work towards retrieving the people of Jammu & Kashmir, with honor and dignity, from the political uncertainties they are engulfed in for the past seven decades,” she said and added that neither the stones nor the guns either in hands of the militants or the in the hands of security forces would enable a peaceful solution of the Kashmir problem.
Mehbooba said the people of the State, irrespective of their age, gender, status or the political affiliation, have been suffering the disastrous consequences of the turmoil and they have to be retrieved from this quagmire, sooner the better. She said at the same time, the people shall also have to give peace and reconciliation process a chance to take shape as had happened between 2002 and 2003.
“Our children are today getting killed or maimed, our social fabric is slipping into disorder, economy is in shambles, educational sector has suffered immensely, tourism inflow is zero, shopkeepers are not able to do business, industrial units are shut, development process has come to a halt and people are feeling suffocated. We shall have to ponder over how long we are going to allow this self destruction to continue?”, she said adding; “We shall have to reinforce our resolve to work through peaceful means and through public participation towards resolution of the problems and restoration of peace in the State.”
Mehbooba said in tune with her party’s ‘Agenda of Alliance’ with the BJP, several inter and intra-state confidence building measures were under discussion at various levels, which were to be implemented in a phased manner.
“Whether it is opening of more cross-LoC points for movement of people and goods including Suchetgarh-Sialkote Road, Kargil-Skardu road and Nowshera-Jhangadh road or expanding the scope and ambit of cross-LoC trade, various measures were in the pipeline, various CBMs were being discussed for implementation,” she said and added that before there could have been tangible movement forward on these CBMs, Kashmir valley was, unfortunately, put on fire by the vested interests who don’t want the peace and stability to take shape in the State and the region.
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