People of Kashmir have not integrated with India emotionally: Mehbooba Mufti

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti said on Tuesday that even after so many years the people of Kashmir have not integrated with India emotionally and that is the reason behind the trust defecit between New Delhi and the Valley’s residents. “We also want that Jammu and Kashmir should integrate with India emotionally, with heart and mind. Has it happened yet? Clearly no” Mehbooba said inside the assembly which has witnessed a stormy and noisy sessions so far. The disruprtion and clamour in the state’s Assembly comes in the backdrop of over five month long unrest in the Valley that has left close to hundred people dead and thousands injured. [caption id=“attachment_3197952” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Jammu and Kashmir Assembly. Sameer Yasir/ Firstpost[/caption] Mehbooba said her alliance partner BJP and prime minister Narendra Modi has been trying his best to forge a cordial relationship between India and Pakistan, but every initiative of the government was followed by an unfortunate attack like the Pathankot attack on the Indian Air Force base in January last year, in which seven security personnel and one civilian were killed by attackers before they were neutralized by the security forces. “We should not forget Prime Minister Modi went to Lahore and attended Nawaz Shareef’s grand-daughter’s wedding,” Mehbooba said, trying to highlight the efforts put in by New Delhi to promote friendship with Islamabad. Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said that Government of India should hold dialogue with Hurriyat Conference to find a political resolution to Kashmir issue. Earlier, several PDP leaders had pitched for the resolution of Kashmir through dialogue and peaceful ways. Mehbooba, who concluded the discussion on Tuesday, said this (J&K) assembly has to facilitate the resolution of Kashmir issue and the alliance between the PDP and BJP was an opportunity to think how to move forward. She said the Article 370 is not a hurdle in integration between India and the people of Kashmir although her alliance partner, BJP, has a different opinion on the issue. “The kind of mandate 2014 election threw was very different and we had to respect that. Mufti Sayeed wanted to take J&K out of the morass and we waited for ten years for a strong leader to emerge in Delhi. You cannot shut eyes to strong mandate Narendra Modi received,” she said. She said that it was important for her party to join hands with people who have got majority in Jammu region and then who can deal with the issue of Kashmir with some courage. “There were provocations to stoke communal flames in Jammu, but I congratulate my colleagues who managed the situation very well in Jammu during the unrest in valley,” she said. Mehbooba Mufti appealed to all shades of opinion in the State to help the Government to ensure that the unfortunate cycle of violence, like the recent one in Kashmir, are not repeated and people do not suffer any longer. “He (Mufti) was impressed by democracy of India and thus he followed pro-India politics in J&K. He wanted to create an alternative in democracy. He fought for democracy in Congress and then as an regional alternative,” she added.