Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Muhammad Sayeed in New Delhi on Thursday. The relations with Pakistan, expansion of the cross-Line of Control trade and the State’s development topped the agenda, but there was no word yet on the much-touted flood relief package.
At the first such meeting with Mr. Modi after becoming the Chief Minister in alliance with the BJP in March this year, the Mufti touched upon key issues, including Kashmir’s political situation and development, the cross-LoC trade and travel, skill development, infrastructure building and problems of the PoK refugees.
Much to the dismay of the Mufti’s PDP, the “special” package for the rehabilitation of the 2014 flood victims and for rebuilding the damaged infrastructure seems to have made no headway. The package, in which the State has proposed a Rs. 44,000-crore stimulus, remains unannounced.
Mr. Sayeed also sought “active participation of the Central government agencies in absorbing the talented human resource of the State,” while describing the growing number of educated unemployed youths “as a real challenge for the government.”
