Excelsior Correspondent
Anantnag, Apr 9: Terming peace an imperative for progress and prosperity of any area, Peoples Democratic Party leader and Minister for Food and Civil Supplies Chowdhary Zulfkar Ali today said PDP is trying level best to pursue the agenda to restore lasting peace in the State.
Addressing public gathering at Mazmoh Dooru in Anantnag, Chowdhary Zulfkar Ali said that the situation of the State was deteriorated after 2008 due to inefficiently tackling the situation. He said that the State was returning to normalcy after 2002 and people had enjoyed golden era of 2002 to 2005 when Mufti Mohammad Sayeed developed the State as well as worked for peace and prosperity.
Reminding the days, Chowdhary Zulfkar Ali said that the wounds of many decades were healed by PDP Government in 2002. He said that healing touch was focussed on addressing the alienation of people of J&K, particularly in the valley of Kashmir. He added that Mufti succeeded in making the program a success by completely withdrawing Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) from the State.
He said that it was Mufti who disbanded the Special Operation Group and also made efforts to institutionalise a dialogue process between New Delhi and the separatists. He said that he even made efforts for the return and rehabilitation of Kashmiri Pandits and most importantly, he advocated for a sustained dialogue process between India and Pakistan and got positive feedback from Delhi.
The Minister said that it was unfortunate that Mufti got only 3 years of rule otherwise the situation would have been different. He added that the State had to undergo a political drought after PDP left office in 2005 and whole process of stabilization and peace had to be restarted in 2015.He added that during the last decade the situation of the State turned grim and people once again started feeling insecure and unsafe. He added that they formed Government in the State this time only because they want to provide relief to people from the uncertainty of decade.
Expressing satisfaction over the efforts of present Government, Chowdhary Zulfkar Ali said that Mehbooba Mufti like her father is committed for good Indo-Pak ties and lasting peace in the State. He said that the Government is trying hard to bring total normalcy in the State. He appealed people to provide chance to peace because peace is imperative for development and progress in the society.
He appealed people to support Tassaduq Mufti and said that he is inheriting the great qualities of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and he will definitely work as a bridge between the State and Centre. He said that Tassaduq Mufti is capable enough to project the issues of Jammu & Kashmir in the Parliament and will surely get these issues resolved.