Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Sept 6: Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti today accused separatists of instigating the children in Kashmir to engage in violence while making sure their own studied abroad or outside the State.
Mehbooba told at the function organised to distribute LED bulbs under the Centre’s ‘UJALA’ scheme that separatists are “exploiting” children in the Valley only after having made sure that their studied outside. “God is witness, that their (the separatists’) own children study in Malaysia, Dubai, Bangalore and Rajasthan. If a single child of these people has been injured in the protests in these days, I am ready to quit politics,” she said.
She said that on one hand separatists fear a police man and on the other ask children to fight bullets, pellets and tear gas. “They ask the children to fight bullets, pellets and teargas, but themselves fear a policeman,” she said.
The Chief Minister dared the separatists to sleep in their homes instead of roaming around exploiting the children. “If you (separatists) have courage, then sleep in your homes and not roam around from one home to another, asking children to take out protests rallies. You fear my policeman, but tell these children, my children, our children, who should have been in schools, to take out protests in other places and do something so that there is a reaction (from the security forces)”, she said.
“How will I tolerate this? I have been saying this that there are mostly those children who used to be at my rallies when they were kids when no one was with me,” she said.
Invoking motherhood for welfare of the child, Mehbooba said that she will speak the truth for saving the people. “My colleagues have this (fear) that I may say something. But, I have always spoken truth. The way a mother slaps her child when he tries to touch a hot kangri (firepot), I will do the same to save my people. I will be angry, I will speak truth and warn them not to use children as a shield (during street protests),” she said.
The Chief Minister said that since her intentions are noble, the Kashmir valley will come out of the “misery”.”Majority of the people want an honourable solution to the issue. Nobody wants violence except for those who don’t have to face impact of this violence as their own children are studying outside the Valley”, she said.
Mehbooba hoped that the situation would normalize soon and said that some people are roaming during night to provoke children to join protests. “Time will not remain like this always, but wounds will be there on the hearts of the children which these people have inflicted. Today, people will find my words bitter, but they will later understand what I said because I saw many people roaming the streets at night provoking children to join the protests”, she said.
Hitting out at separatists, she said that nothing is going to be achieved through violence. “What solution is this that our children are getting blinded? Till when will this go on? Nothing will come out of this…by violence, by closing shops and throwing stones. Our movement is not a movement now because it has jettisoned our culture and become uncultured,” she said.
She said there is an opportunity for addressing the Kashmir issue as the country has a strong Prime Minister in Narendra Modi who has called for an end to the violence. “Today, there is an opportunity as there is a very strong Prime Minister in this country. Today, in this situation, the cream of the country, members of Parliament, came to you (as part of an All-Party Delegation) and many among them said that they want to talk without any conditions”, she said.
Mehbooba said: “I, as president (PDP), wrote a letter. It had not happened till now. I said you talk wherever you want, we would facilitate it because every day children are getting killed, injured. This should end. Our shops are closed, our schools are shut, everything has stopped. Today, there is an opportunity for the people of the State if they want a solution to the issue.”
She said that several opportunities have been lost in the past for resolving Kashmir issue and if “we miss it again, coming generations won’t forgive us”. “We have lost several opportunities in the past to resolve the issue through engagement and dialogue and today again if we miss the chance, the coming generations will never forgive us for our intransigence,” she said.
The Chief Minister said that her party has been consistently advocating dialogue both with Pakistan and all sections of the society within the State, including the separatists, for the permanent resolution of the Kashmir issue.
Mehbooba said whether it was the party’s Common Minimum Programme with Congress in 2002, its Election Manifestos or its ‘Agenda of Alliance’ with BJP, PDP has repeatedly reiterated its agenda of peaceful resolution of the issue through engagement and reconciliation.
“And to a large extent we had succeeded in facilitating setting off a productive reconciliation and resolution process in and around J&K between 2002 and 2005,” she said and added that today again the party’s position is same and it was in this spirit that she recently wrote to the separatist leaders requesting them to engage in talks for the resolution of the issue.
Mehbooba revealed that when V P Singh was the Prime Minister in nineties and Mufti Mohammad Sayeed was the Union Home Minister, the later had prevailed on then PM that he has an opportunity to rewrite the subcontinent’s history, if he can resolve the Kashmir issue. “V P Singh agreed to engage with various stakeholders in Jammu and Kashmir to resolve the issue through dialogue and fortunately at that time Government of India was ready to discuss every possible solution. Accordingly, the separatist leadership in Kashmir was approached through emissaries to engage with New Delhi for the settlement of the issue, however, they refused to come to the negotiating table and lost the first opportunity to resolve the issue,” Mehbooba said.
She said another opportunity was lost when the then Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee led off the peace and reconciliation process on both external and internal fronts in 2003. “Again the Hurriyat leadership was invited for talks to resolve the issue. However, because of the internal discord within the separatist leadership at that time, another opportunity to resolve the issue was lost,” she said.
Mehbooba said, however, if anything was achieved in Jammu and Kashmir since the partition of the subcontinent, it was between 2002 and 2005 when cross-LoC roads were opened for movement of people and goods and there was peace along the borders. “On the internal front also, various Confidence Building Measures were taken for the rehabilitation of the victims of violence and after a long era of political uncertainty, Kashmir had started radiating peace in the subcontinent instead of becoming a bone of contention between India and Pakistan,” she said.
“Unfortunately, after Vajpayee demitted office in 2004, there was no substantive movement forward on the peace and reconciliation initiatives taken by India and Pakistan vis-à-vis Kashmir leading, once again, to an era of cynicism and alienation in the Valley”, she said.
Mehbooba said with a robust mandate on his back and the country’s political leadership, cutting across the divide, fully supportive of reviving the peace and reconciliation process in and around Jammu and Kashmir, Prime Minister, Narendra Modi has the opportunity to resolve the Kashmir issue in the interest of the peace and stability of the State and the region.
“And I am sure a serious effort was made by reaching out to every section of the society in J&K, including the separatist leadership through the All Party Delegation to set the resolution process into motion through dialogue,” she said.
“Unfortunately, the separatists seem to have again missed the opportunity by refusing to engage. If we refuse to talk to anybody, how come the resolution will evolve?”, Mehbooba asked.
Stressing the need for continuing the efforts for peaceful resolution of the issue, the Chief Minister called for reaching out to people of Jammu and Kashmir through substantive political and economic measures to address the anger, alienation and the aspirations. She also urged the separatist leadership to engage in negotiations to make peace a reality in the State and bring an end to the miseries of the people.
“Despite the challenges and impediments, the prevailing painful situation in Kashmir necessitates once again 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.
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 and “the onus lies not only on us but the separatist leadership as well to give the peace and resolution process a chance.”
“Our children are 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 asked.
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