Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti’s move to soft-pedal revocation of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) has separatists in the Valley up in arms.
In her address to the Upper House in Jammu, Ms. Mufti, whose Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) advocates the removal of AFSPA, said, “The success of the security forces depends upon when we start revoking the AFSPA. It also depends upon when we stomp out militancy fully, and, slowly and steadily decrease the footprints of security forces.”
Ms. Mufti’s remarks are a departure from the PDP’s previous stand to pursue the Centre “vigorously” for revocation of the AFSPA, which is also part of the ‘Agenda of Alliance’.
While soft-pedalling the AFSPA in the wake of growing home-grown militancy, Ms. Mufti pitched for connecting J&K with the outside world.
“J&K can be a corridor between South Asia and Central Asia on the lines of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Such corridor between the two emerging economic hotspots would help forge a new regional cooperation, energy transformation, trade and transit,”
Ms. Mufti said on Monday. Ms. Mufti said trans-Kashmir corridor, with diverse sub-corridors, “was symbolic of relative peace, prosperity, cross-cultural and ideological fertilisation and human security until late 1940s”.
Separatist leaders Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Muhammad Yasin Malik, have criticised Ms. Mufti for her new stand on the AFSPA.
Separatists up in arms
Ms. Mufti’s statement that lakhs of Indian forces stationed in J&K will continue to enjoy immunity from any accountability for their actions of killing, blinding, maiming, torturing ,injuring or harassing people of Kashmir till ‘peace is achieved’ is lamentable to say the least,” said a joint statement issued the leaders.