‘Pakistan is the reason for Kashmiri youth taking up arms’, CM Mehbooba Mufti

Srinagar July 25:  Jammu and Kashmir CM Mehbooba Mufti described Pakistan  as hypocritical nation and blamed it for instigating Kashmiri youths to take up weapons and become terrorists.

The CM was speaking on a day she met Union home minister Rajnath Singh who took stock of situation in the Valley where 47 people have died and over five thousand civilians and security personnel have been injured in clashes that followed the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani.

Unlike her father Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, who throughout his political career never criticized Pakistan, Mehbooba for the first time went against the political line of the PDP.

While Pakistan tortures those who take up guns in its own territory, it teaches some other lesson to our  Kashmiri children. This is wrong and hypocritical ,” she told reporters on Sunday.

“Every day we get to know that infiltration is going on unabated along the borders,” Mehbooba said, stating causes of increasing terrorism in Kashmir valley and repeated intrusions from across the border.

The Chief Minister said there is a need to take “bold measures to address the issue as the people of Jammu and Kashmir were our own”.

The CM said confidence building measures with the neighbour must continue and withdrawal of Armed Forces Special Powers Act on trial basis in certain areas in J&K,beginning with 25 to 50 police stations, as a beginning towards  winning the hearts of J&K  people.

“I think today we have an opportunity, for the whole country as well as for Pakistan that if they are really our well-wishers, then they should talk,” she said.

The situation remained largely peaceful across the valley with only some stray instances of stone pelting.

There was no curfew in most towns although prohibitory orders continued in eight police stations of Srinagar and in Awantipora, Kulgam and Anantnag.

Meanwhile, a constable Mudasir Ahmad, who was injured in a hand grenade attack in Kulgam on July 15, succumbed to his injuries, taking the death toll in the valley to 47.