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| Mehbooba raises pitch | | |
Srinagar, February 25
Still awaiting chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azads reply in response to letters written by leader of the PDP legislature party Abdul Aziz Zargar and PDP Patron Mufti Mohd Sayeed himself highlighting urgent issue of withdrawal of Armed forces special powers act and reduction in the level of troops, Peoples Democratic Party Chief Mehbooba Mufti on Sunday urged all the political parties and leaders to move out of the glacial mindsets and instead of opposing PDP's demand for the sake of opposition, strengthen the resolve of the country's leadership to allow the much-cherished dream of peace with dignity to take shape in Jammu & Kashmir.
Without naming any political party or the leader she said those with obstructionist and egoistic mindset,trying to politicize the issue, unfortunately, are not doing any favor either to the country or to the people of the State. .
She maintained that her party’s demand would make positive impact on the fast changing ground situation in the State. "To mark the beginning for getting out of the messy static situation we are in for the past 17 years, only such tangible measures would make a difference to the life in Kashmir and provide a visible breakthrough on the ground Mehbooba said while addressing a PDP workers' convention of district Srinagar at party headquarters this morning,
Mehbooba’s categoric statement would further flare up volatile situation and may strain relations between the coalition partners. The core group of the congress for Kashmir affairs, headed by Pranaba Mukherjee has already rejected the demand immediate reduction of troops.
Reminding that the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh had himself taken the initiative for troop reduction in November 2004, Ms Mufti said Dr Singh at a public meeting in Srinagar while announcing to reduce the number of troops deployed in Jammu & Kashmir for internal security had made it clear that if the conditions improve "there would be further reduction of troops." She wondered that if the situation was conducive in 2004 for reduction of troops, what went wrong since then that, even the people at the highest level in the State establishment, who could have taken credit for bringing about further positive change in the situation, are today vehemently opposing PDP's most reasonable and rational demands. "We can't wait for the last gun to fall silent and I don't think anybody can confidently predict that conditions would be more appropriate for such an initiative after two or three years," she said and pleaded for putting the people first to politics.
Quoting further from the Prime Minister's November 17 speech in Srinagar, Mehbooba said Dr Singh had said; "I have come here with the assurance that Kashmir is safe in our hearts and minds and should, therefore, feel secure in our secular, plural and democratic framework." She said the armed forces and the country should take pride in pulling Jammu & Kashmir out of the most difficult times and hand-over the responsibility now to the political forces in the State to allow the democratic institutions to consolidate and flourish as was rightly indicated by the Prime Minister in his speech. She said instead of being on defensive over the troop reduction and withdrawal of AFSPA, the UPA leadership must take pride that they have created an atmosphere in Jammu & Kashmir for lessening the burden on the armed forces and allowing the democratic and political institutions to play a more vibrant role in further consolidating the normalization process by reposing greater trust and faith in the people of the State.
Mehbooba emphasized that the measures like reduction of troops, revocation of AFSPA and vacation of agricultural, orchard land and private and government buildings by the security forces and handing-over the law and order responsibility to the local police in the State could be one of the greatest achievements of the UPA Government and especially the Congress, who have the distinction of steering clear the country through similar difficult situations in various other parts. PDP leaders Ghulam Qadir Pardesi, Peerzada Mansoor Hussain, Sheikh Abdul Rehman and Ishtiyaq Qadiri also addressed the convention. |
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