New Delhi: With her state on the boil for more than a month, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti came to the national capital to seek Prime Minister Narendra Modi”s intervention in a crisis that has taken more than 60 lives and left thousands injured.
Speaking to reporters after a two-hour meeting with Home Minister Rajnath Singh, at which Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar was present, Mehbooba said: “There is a need to apply balm to the wounds of Kashmiri people,.” Adding: “Hope PM will address the unrest in Kashmir… Try to heal wounds, start talks to keep up Vajpayee ji”s Jammu and Kashmir initiative.”
The Kashmir issue is a major problem in the resumption of cordial ties between India and Pakistan and Mehbooba hinted that the state could act as a “bridge” between the two nations in resuming a dialogue.
Stressing that Kashmiris are our own people, she said: “I believe there is a need to heal the wounds of people, to initiate dialogue with the people of Jammu and Kashmir. If process of dialogue with the people of Jammu and Kashmir can improve the situation in Valley, we should do it.”
The Kashmir issue also figured in the Rajya Sabha with leader of opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad, a former chief minister of the state, questioning the Prime Minister”s silence on this grave crisis. “The situation there is very tense and it is regrettable that the government is watching from the sidelines…not a word from the Prime Minister…people in Kashmir are wondering why the Prime Minister is silent on the situation in Kashmir,” he said. The Left”s Sitaram Yechury joined him in asking the government to call an urgent meeting of all parties.
Yechury was among a group of opposition leaders who questioned the use of pellet guns to quell the huge protests. Hundreds of people have been left with serious eye injuries and been operated on because of the pellet guns.
The Home Minister recently announced that a committee will look urgently for an alternative to the pellet gun and define the scope of use of the non-lethal weapon.
“Everyone”s just talking about pellet guns. The government, particularly the PM, should look into this issue,” said Sharad Yadav of the Janata Dal United or JDU in parliament today. Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said the government is ready for a discussion on Kashmir, but not today.
