Shoots of peace sprouting in Valley, says Mehbooba

REGAINING NORMALCY Lauds Centre’s efforts; J&K CM says there is need to give back Kashmiris their dignity

SRINAGAR: Shoots of peace are “sprouting” in the terrorismhit state of Jammu and Kashmir and the government is now working towards ensuring that the people in the state can be uplifted with dignity, state chief minister Mehbooba Mufti has said.

In an interview to news agency PTI , the 58-year-old Jammu and Kashmir chief minister welcomed recent attempts by the Centre and the ruling party to reach out to Kashmiris, starting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Independence Day speech where he asked the countrymen to embrace Kashmiris.

This was followed by Union home minister Rajnath Singh’s statement that the Centre is willing to hold talks with all stakeholders, then BJP leader Ram Madhav saying talks can be held with anyone. In his “Mann ki Baat” speech on Sunday, Modi also praised a poor Valley youth, Bilal Dar, for his attempt to clean up a lake, which became front page news in Kashmir and heavily discussed on social media.

“These are welcome signs” in Valley where people are eagerly waiting for peace to return, the chief minister said.

“The shoots of peace have started sprouting. They have to be watered and fertilised, and I am sure that the fruits of peace will follow,” she said.

Mehbooba, whose Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is in an alliance with the BJP in the state, blamed the electronic media for making even minor incidents of violence into national events, portraying Kashmir as a region in perpetual flames.

She said the high-pitched debates that follow end up vilifying Kashmiris.

“This in turn alienates Kashmiris against the rest of India and India against Kashmir, which has a direct impact on tourism, the mainstay of the economy,” she added.

Mehbooba said it was wrong to project the entire 70-lakh population of the Valley as pro-militants when intelligence figures showed that there were only around 200-300 home grown militants.

“You talk about the 200 militants but don’t talk about the thousands of Kashmiris in the Indian Army,” she said.

PTI J&K CM Mehbooba Mufti said the vilification of Kashmir alienates Valley’s people against India and the country against them, which hits tourism, the mainstay of the state’s economy.