Notwithstanding separatists’ snub to outreach bid by some members of Parliament, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Wednesday hoped a ‘fresh and productive effort’ would be made by the country’s political leadership to reach out to all stakeholders.
Welcoming the resolution of the all-party delegation calling for dialogue with all stakeholders in Jammu and Kashmir, she said engagement and reconciliation is the only way forward to end the stalemate and make peace, stability and prosperity a reality in the state and the region.
She said the people of Jammu and Kashmir, irrespective of their age, gender, status or the political affiliation, have been suffering the disastrous consequences of the turmoil and unrest and they have to be retrieved from this blood-spattered quagmire, sooner the better.
“The onus lies not only on the government but the separatist leadership as well to give the peace and resolution process a chance by coming forward with a concrete roadmap,” the chief minister said.
“Unfortunately the separatist leadership missed the recent opportunity of engaging with the country’s Parliamentarians, during their visit to the state, to find a solution to the problem,” Mehbooba said, referring to the rebuff by separatists to an attempt by some MPs to reach out to Hurriyat Conference and others.
She expressed hope that a ‘fresh and productive effort’ would be made by the country’s political leadership to reach out to all the stakeholders in the state to address the issue through inclusive and comprehensive engagement.
“Despite the challenges and impediments, the prevailing painful situation in Kashmir necessitates once again reaching out to all shades of the political opinion in the state and initiating substantive political and economic measures to revive and consolidate the peace and resolution process which had worked so well between 2002 and 2005,” she said.
“There is no alternative to dialogue, and somebody has to engage with somebody to find a way out and it stands true for J&K as well,” she said.
“By shying away from talks, the separatist leadership is in the danger of being squarely blamed for holding up the resolution process when an opportunity was there to address the issue through political and democratic means,” she said.
“Violence in any form only brings miseries to the people and is not a means to seek resolution of the problem... Holding public life to ransom will not yield peace but only aggravate the miseries of the people,” Mehbooba said, adding, “We shall have to ponder over how long we are going to allow this self destruction to continue?”
She said, “Our children are getting killed and maimed, our social fabric is slipping into disorder, economy is in shambles, educational sector has suffered immensely, tourism inflow is zero, shopkeepers are not able to do business, transport industry is suffering massive losses, industrial units are shut, development process has come to a halt and people are feeling suffocated.”
The chief minister said everyone, cutting across the political divide, shall have to reinforce the resolve to work through peaceful means and through public participation towards resolution of the problem and restoration of peace in the state so that the future generations can at least live in peaceful environment.
