Fayaz Bukhari
SRINAGAR, July 29: Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti today said that her party won’t allow closure of trans-Line of Control (LoC) trade and instead would work towards opening more routes across the LoC with Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
Addressing a rally on the 18th Foundation Day of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Mehbooba said that there are difficulties through Wagah border trade as well but no one talks about its closure. She, however, said that mechanism be put in place to curb the drug smuggling. “There are many difficulties through Wagah border, charas and ganja comes from there but no one talks about closing it. There is a mistake on the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road … we should not talk about closing it. We will not allow that to happen,” she said.
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Chief Minister said that she is in favour of opening of more LoC routes. “We are in favour of opening more routes. There should be facilities like banking (at crossing points). There should be full body scanners (for trucks) so that we know what is coming in and what is going out from here,” she said.
“What we in PDP have achieved since 2002 needs to be taken forward, and not finishing it off,” Mehbooba added.
The PDP president said the Centre should tread the path taken by then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and revive Lahore pact between India and Pakistan. “I appeal Centre to revive Lahore Declaration so that we can live peacefully in Jammu and Kashmir,” she said
On the idea of having a joint legislature for undivided Jammu and Kashmir, Mehbooba said “there are seats reserved in our Assembly for that Kashmir. We should decide together to make nominations for those seats. We should decide that this Assembly meets once in this Kashmir and once in that Kashmir every year so that we can talk about tourism, travel and opening of Sharda Peeth.”
The Chief Minister also spoke about exchange of student visits between the two sides of Kashmir. “I appeal to people on the other side of Kashmir. Come and send your children on a 15 day tour here and we will send our children there. They will see how we live here and our children will see how they live there,” she added.
Mehbooba appealed to all mainstream parties including BJP and opposition National Conference and Congress to find a way out to end the bloodshed in Kashmir. “I appeal to all parties, be it National Conference, Congress, BJP, Communists or any other party, let us sit together and find a solution to problems of Jammu and Kashmir. We are one, we are same. Anyone is killed, it is a Kashmiri be it a policeman or an innocent pedestrian. It is the asset of Jammu and Kashmir that is lost”, she said. “I appeal to Farooq Abdullah, Ghulam Nabi Azad, the leadership of BJP that let us heal the pain of Kashmiris,” she added.
Chief Minister said the State is today facing an ideological challenge due to which there is disturbance in Kashmir and guns are roaring. “You cannot imprison an idea, you cannot kill an idea. Mufti (Mohammad Sayeed) Sahib would often say Kashmiri is besieged, he should be set free by opening of roads like Kargil-Skardu, Jammu-Sialkot and Leh-Xinjiang,” she added.
Mehbooba sought support of people in general and party workers in particular in helping bring out the State from the present State of uncertainty.
Senior PDP leader and MP Muzaffar Hussain Beig launched a scathing attack on the functioning of some of his party Ministers saying while corruption is prevalent in lower ranks of administration the State officials are not able to utilize the funds provided by the Centre for development of the State.
Urging Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti to ensure that officers are held accountable, he told the gathering that Centre has sanctioned Rs 19000 crore for the State this year but “we have weakness and we are not able to spend this amount. Our officers have weakness.” He said that he does not know about the state of affairs at higher levels of administration but corruption was prevalent in lower levels.
Trying to highlight the low attendance of party workers from South Kashmir, once a bastion of PDP but now hot-bed of militancy, Beig asked the workers hailing from South to raise their hands. There were only few raised hands among the several thousand workers.
Baig said while most of the Ministers in the present Government were holding positions for the first time, they should now draw on their experience of more than two years to start fulfilling the promises made to the people.
“I will tell the Ministers to keep not only their doors but hearts also open for the party workers. Even if they cannot get their genuine works done, they should accord the worker his due respect. The party is because of these workers only,” the MP said.
Beig also spoke out against the arrest of Hurriyat Conference leaders by the NIA in connection with probe into terror funding in Kashmir. “Someone from the seven persons arrested may be innocent and should be set free. Only those should be proceeded against who have indulged in activities that led to killing of people and burning of schools. Otherwise, what will be the difference between the present Government (at Centre) and the one that held Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah in jail till 1964 without any evidence,” he said.
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