New Delhi, Aug 21 ( KINS ) : Former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Mehbooba Mufti, warned the BJP-led Centre with the example of the Taliban. She urged the central government to take lessons from the situation in Afghanistan and restore Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.
Addressing a rally in the valley’s Kulgam district on Saturday, Mehbooba Mufti said, “It needs courage to face what the people of Jammu and Kashmir are facing. The day they run out of patience, you will be ruined. Don’t test our patience. Look at what is happening in our neighbourhood (Afghanistan). The Taliban forced the powerful US forces to leave the country.”
#WATCH | It needs courage to endure what people of J&K are enduring. The day they run out of patience, you would be doomed. Don’t test our patience. See what is happening in our neighbourhood. US, a great power, had to pack its bags & withdraw from there: Mehbooba Mufti, PDP pic.twitter.com/cEELMRX0mt
“But you (the Centre) still have the opportunity. Restart the peace process now as Atal Bihari Vajpayee had done with respect to the Constitution. Restore Article 370 and return whatever you took away,” she added.
Meanwhile, Mehbooba Mufti further said that if New Delhi was really interested in ensuring peace in the Union Territory and in the sub-continent, it must resolve the Kashmir issue through dialogue with Kashmiris.
She alleged that the BJP government was misusing its agencies to crush dissent in Kashmir. “If better sense doesn’t prevail in the BJP camp, India is all set to break into parts on communal and religious lines,” the PDP chief said.
Mehbooba Mufti also recollected that the then Jammu and Kashmir leadership had entered into accession in 1947 with former PM Jawahar Lal Nehru after they were promised that the identity of Kashmiris would be protected by all means and a special status would be granted.
“Had the BJP been in power at that point of time, Jammu and Kashmir wouldn’t have been part of India today,” she said.
BJP’s reaction
Jammu and Kashmir BJP chief Ravinder Raina lashed out at Mehbooba Mufti over her comments. “India is a strong nation. Our Prime Minister is Narendra Modi and not Joe Biden. We will eliminate all terrorists,” he said.
“Mehbooba Mufti is a traitor. She is indulging in sedition. She has insulted the people of the J&K who are patriots. Mehbooba wants Taliban rule in Jammu and Kashmir. But our government will wipe out terror in Jammu and Kashmir,” the BJP leader added.
ttacking Mufti, BJP leader Nirmal Singh called her desperate and frustrated as she has lost political ground.
“If she thinks that she can blackmail us then she needs to understand that this is Modi’s India. Those days are gone and we will not be blackmailed,” he added.
People who give such statements have some malicious intentions, said Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi.
“Yesterday, PM has said that tolerance is our culture and tradition but zero-tolerance against terrorism is our resolution. With that resolution, India and its people are going forward. People who give such statements have some malicious intentions,” he added.
After being released from detention in October last year, Mufti has repeatedly urged the Union government to hold talks with Pakistan.
The former Jammu and Kashmir CM also urged the Taliban to not commit violence against Afghan people.
“The world is now watching their behaviour. I urge the Taliban no to commit any act that goes against Afghan people. I urge them to not do anything that will force the world to go against them. Role of guns is over in the Taliban and the world community is watching how they behave with the people,” she said.
( Courtesy India Today )
