Jammu: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Monday blamed Pakistan, and the separatists for derailing the dialogue process by shutting doors on the All Party Delegation, saying the preparations for the Valley unrest were done beforehand.
The preparations for the five-month long unrest in Kashmir were made in advance and when the triggers like separate Kashmiri Pandit Colony and Sainik Colony did not work, the killing of Burhan Wani triggered the unrest, she said.
“The Prime Minister Narendra Modi went to Lahore and it was followed by Pathankot terrorist attack and today in Jurian. Entire nation had their eyes on those (separatists) doors and the nation was breathless to see the outcome and several senior leaders went to meet them. They could have opened the doors,”
Mehbooba said while replying to the discussion on the Kashmir unrest in the state Assembly. She said that had the separatists opened their doors, it could have led to the start of a dialogue. “A message would have gone and they (separatists) would have told the All Party Delegation what they have done in the past and what steps have they taken to resolve the issue,” she said.
Referring to the unrest in Kashmir, which left several people dead and many injured, the chief minister said that the unrest took place under a “well-planned conspiracy”. “Earlier they used the issue of separate Kashmiri Pandit Colony and then Sainik Colony to trigger the unrest but when they failed, this (Burhan Wani’s killing) provided them the trigger they wanted to instigate unrest,” Mehbooba said.
“Some elements” used small kids as shield and pushed them inside security force camps and police stations, she added. It is easy to say that security forces could have exercised restrain but when a mob attacks a police station with petrol bombs, stones and axes, it becomes difficult to exercise restraint, Mehbooba said.
Claiming that the injured were not allowed to go to hospitals, she said that pregnant ladies were asked to show their baby bumps to prove their pregnancy to go to the hospitals. “Many school children did not go to the school in uniform as they feared they would be attacked. Several students who went to give examinations were accompanied by their mothers who were carrying doctor’s prescriptions to show them (protesters) that they were going to see the doctors. They were so much scared,” she added.
The Chief Minister said that she wants the walls of hate to fall down and let hearts meet. “Despite several provocations, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh went to Pakistan but was it the way they should have treated him like this,” Mehbooba said.
370 people were arrested under the Public Safety Act (PSA) and the government will review their cases but the process had to be shelved due to the unrest and will begin soon. There were 138 others who were lodged in jails, she said.
Appealing to the Opposition to help her “heal” the wounds of the people, she said, “I strongly feel that the situation was not sudden and going on for several years. My request is that be it 2010 or 2016 it should not have happened, either on your time or ours. Help us to heal the wounds of the people and to bring them out of this,” she said.
Mehbooba asseerted that her government is committed to bring the youth of Kashmir, who have taken guns, to the mainstream. (PTI)
