Excelsior Correspondent
KUPWARA, Apr 28: People’s Democratic Party (PDP) patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed today said that any new Government at the Centre shall have to address Kashmir and relations with Pakistan as priority issues with focused attention as these are the two major challenges facing the country at present.
Terming denial of justice in Kashmir as a blot on the democratic system of India, Sayeed said PDP would use the Parliament as a forum for articulating the aspirations, highlighting the grievances, and voicing the insecurities of the people of J&K. “The trust deficit that exists in Kashmir today has been created because the regional parties of the State have not been able to use the Parliament to highlight the genuine concerns of the people of J&K,” Sayeed said while addressing an election rally in this border town.
Sayeed said the young teacher, Abdul Haq of Arwani killed in an encounter at Maniloo, Shopian last week is a tragic manifestation of the persistent persecution, state repression and denial of justice in Kashmir. “The trail of tragedies and the constant hounding that the family of Haq was subjected to by the security agencies, is unthinkable in a civilized and internationally acknowledged democratic setup,” he said and added that is why PDP during its brief stint in the Government between 2002 and 2005 tried to, in the first instance, address the fundamental issue of ensuring security and upholding the dignity of the people.
“It is heartening to note that the atmosphere of relaxation which was visible in the nook and corner of the State during that period is being widely acknowledged even today,” he said.
Sayeed said unfortunately, right from its inception, the present regime has become synonymous with anti-people oppressive measures fueling a new wave of alienation among the youth. “In the very first year of this Government in 2009 two innocent ladies lost their honour and life in an awful incident in Shopian leading to protests, killings and wanton detentions. In the very next year in 2010, we saw 120 innocent youth, including kids and girls, falling to the bullets of the Government forces and there seems to be no end to the reign of persecution let loose by Omar Abdullah-led Government,” he said and added that instead of addressing the just concerns of the people, the present government resorted to reckless use of the draconian Public Safety Act (PSA) to suppress the voices of dissent.
Expressing the hope that the new Government at the Centre will take tangible measures to address the causes of alienation and trust deficit in Kashmir, Sayeed said unfortunately all the well-meaning announcements made previously by different Prime Ministers be it the P V Narasimha Rao’s “Sky is the limit”, or Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s “Insaniyat Kay Dairay Main” or Manmohan Singh’s “making borders irrelevant” were rarely implemented on the ground. “Unless these proclamations get institutionalized and legitimized for them to have an impact on the ground, there can be no headway as far as the resolution of Kashmir issue is concerned,” he said.
Urging people to vote and support Muzaffar Hussain Baig, PDP candidate for Baramulla-Kupwara Parliamentary constituency, Sayeed said PDP is not about making alliances to be in power, the party’s role is to make the Parliament of India a forum for representing the Kashmir issue for debate and dialogue at the national level. Fayaz Ah Mir, Imtiyaz Ahmad Banday, Gh Mohd Mir, Mohd Afzal Wani and others also addressed the gathering.
Follow our WhatsApp channel