Former Chief Minister Kashmir Mehbooba Mufti has said if India wants to ‘keep’ Kashmir, the Centre needs to restore Article 370 and hold talks with Pakistan over the Kashmir issue.
Mehbooba Mufti was addressing a public rally at Batoo Neel area of Ramban district on Wednesday.
“Anger and guns are no way to address a problem. Americans tried it in Afghanistan but could not rule the place. When I ask them [the Centre] to have a dialogue with Pakistan, I am described anti-national. The same people are now talking to Taliban and China, the same country which has set up a village in Arunachal Pradesh and entered into Ladakh. Why do they get angry when I advocate dialogue?” Ms. Mufti said.
Mehbooba described the abrogation of Article 370 “an earthquake”.
Mufti said she was visiting Ramban to make people aware about the current situation in Kashmir, “especially innocent civilian killings”.
Mufti said she was shocked at the recent “civilian killings in Hyderpora among whom one was from district Ramban”. Mufti said she wanted to “garner the support of the public to fight against the central government for restoring Jammu and Kashmir’s special status which she claimed was snatched illegally on August 5, 2019.
Mufti condemned “recent killing of three civilians in Hyderpora Srinagar encounter” and said that only after holding protests and running from pillar to post, the families of the slain were able to get bodies of two civilians in Srinagar. Mufti said body of the third person killed, Muhammad Amir Magarey should also be returned to his family.
Calling for unity among people, Ms. Mufti said, “People need to struggle in support of the restoration of special status guaranteed by the Constitution”.
The PDP chief said Jammu and Kashmir had decided its fate with the India of Mahatma Gandhi, which gave Jammu and Kashmir Article 370, our own constitution and flag. “If they want to keep Jammu and Kashmir with them, they have to restore Article 370, hold dialogue with Pakistan and resolve the Kashmir issue,” she said.