Mufti, while addressing a gathering at her native Bijbehara town in Anantnag district of southern Kashmir, on the 8th death anniversary of her father and party founder Mufti Sayed, reiterated that the people of J&K won’t surrender till the peace with dignity is ensured.
“You talk to militants in the northeast and in J&K you have turned every common man into a militant with the arrests and raids by the NIA, SIA and ED. Is this what you do with your own people?” Mufti asked. She said that she was on a mission to fulfil the dream of her late father to ‘ensure peace with dignity and make this region the crown of the country with dignity.’
“We won’t surrender and we won’t raise the white flag out of submissiveness or for the peace prevalent in a graveyard. If you talk to us with dignity we will also respect you but if you talk through sticks like you did in Bafliaz of Poonch recently then it won’t be acceptable to us,” said Mufti.
The PDP chief reminisced that her party ensured opening of Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road, disbanded the task force in the police and renegades known for atrocities against civilians, revoked draconian laws like POTA, ensured a ceasefire and nudged Delhi for dialogue with Hurriyat in 2016.
“However, like the BJP thinks that they can resolve the issue through war, similarly the separatists thought (in 2016) that they can resolve the issue through stones. The issue was not resolved but our problems increased further,” said Mufti. The PDP chief said that for any government reconciliation is the way forward not repression. She urged people not to lose hope as the night may be long but can never stop the dawn from coming. “We have to raise our voices and become the voice of the people of J&K. We have to explain it to both India and Pakistan that they should live in harmony and make this place an abode of peace,” said Mufti.
