Disillusioned Mehbooba may take final call on coalition with BJP

She says she cannot preside over civilian killings in the valley and remain silent.

leadership of her ally BJP to sack the two BJP ministers Chaudhary Lal Singh and Chandar Prakash for their alleged role in fanning communal hatred in Jammu region and their encouragement to protests that were spearheaded by the Bar Association of Jammu.

Opposition parties in J&K including Omar Abdullah had been pressuring the CM to sack these two ministers. Mehbooba Mufti has reportedly told Prime Minister Narendra Modi that alienation has reached to such a level in the Kashmir valley, especially in South Kashmir, that it can lead to bloodshed of a mass scale.

Mehbooba Mufti, who was recently in New Delhi and met the PM and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, pleading with them for the suspension of anti- militancy operations during the current summer after she received the news that four youths had been killed and about hundred injured when the Army and the security forces opened fire on a stone pelting mob at Kulgam. Earlier, another PDP Minister Tasaduq Mufti, brother of Mehbooba, said in an interview that they can’t be silent on civilian killings and the way the security operations were going on.

He said that if the Centre will not intervene and start the dialogue process, the PDP will apologise to the people for having unknowingly pushed them into something they didn’t deserve”.

Tasaduq Mufti’s interview has come at a time when the PDP is going to discuss the fate of the coalition on Saturday. Mehbooba Mufti has sig- nalled to her party members that they should be ready to pull out of the government. PDP insiders said that Mehbooba wants anti-militancy operations to be suspended and the process of dialogue to be started both with the separatists and Pakistan to end the present cycle of violence. According to the police data, in 2018, so far 18 youths have been killed near the encounter sites while 47 militants have been killed. As many as 20 men-in-uniform have also been killed, showing the spike in violence.

Reports said that Mehbooba Mufti is waiting for a response from the Central government, especially from Rajnath Singh who has assured her that through its official representative Dineshwar Sharma, the Centre will engage with the separatists very soon. Intervening in the controversy that has gripped the Ajmer Sharif Dargah over the last two weeks, the Ministry of Minority Affairs has issued an advisory to the Dargah Dewan Zainul Abedin for violating the Dargah Act by announcing his son as the Sajjadanashin (heir). A delegation of the dargah committee came here earlier this week to meet Minister of Minority Affairs, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, after the ministry took cognisance of the complaints filed by Dewan as well as the Anjuman, accusing each other of breaking the sanctity of the Dargah Act. Speaking to

Naqvi said, “Yes, I have met some people from the Dargah over the issue of announcing the heir.

The discussions took place and the Dewan has been asked to abstain from such activities in the future. We have issued an advisory and told him that his actions were not sanctioned.”

Refusing to divulge further details, Naqvi said that the issue of announcing the heir by overlooking the law is resolved now and there is