AMN / Srinagar
Amid the war hysteria between India and Pakistan and with New Delhi talking about retaliation post the killing of 18 army men in militant attack in Uri, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti said war wasn’t an option.
Underlining the need for dialogue for resolving Kashmir, Mehbooba said her party was against war with Pakistan. “We are against war with Pakistan as wars don’t resolve issue,” said Mehbooba as the voices in New Delhi are growing louder for retaliating over the Uri killings.
Post the Uri killings, the relations between the India and Pakistan have deteriorated and there is a growing opinion in both countries that in case of any provocation from other side the country should be prepared for full fledged offensive.
At the same time, however, Mehbooba said: “While we are interested in dialogue they (Pakistan) are carrying out military drills on their motorways.”
Chairing the first party meeting after the July 8 killing of Hizb commander Burhan Wani that has led to the ongoing uprising in Kashmir, Chief Minister on Saturday told the party ministers and members that the “disturbance” had been “planned” against the Peoples Democratic Party even as she defended the use of pellet guns as last resort by the security forces who, she said, were showing maximum restraint.
Mehbooba said while PDP and its alliance partner BJP were committed to the implementation of `Agenda of the Alliance`, however, a congenial atmosphere needed to be created within and around the State for its implementation while asserting that the Government had started to “deliver” on the agenda citing negotiations on power projects and transfer of land under army to state at different places.
She said the development process in Kashmir has suffered a setback as a result of the prevailing situation and it has hit different sectors.
She said business and industry have suffered in the prevailing situation and people have been rendered jobless. However she said the Government would provide succor in the revival of economy.
Another senior party of the leader said the meeting also reviewed the present situation in Kashmir and got the feedback from the leaders about the situation which has “started to improve”. At least 14 party leaders including Muzaffar Husaain Baig, Mehbooba Baig, Muhammad Rafi Mir, Choudhary Zulfikar, Nizam-ud-Din Bhat and Vikram Aditya Singh also spoke during the meeting.
There was a “unanimous opinion” among the party members that the unrest in Kashmir was a “situation created in which all the forces had combined against the PDP.”
In his speech, Baig gave an overview of the situation and urged the party members to strengthen the hands of Chief Minister. He said resolution of Kashmir was a must to ensure sustainable peace and development in the state.