Panaji: “Jammu & Kashmir(J&K) has the potential to become a gateway to Central Asia. Why can’t our country take advantage of that”, asked Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti at India Ideas conclave here on Friday.
Speaking on the first day of the conclave at a coastal resort in South Goa, Ms. Mehbooba said that Parliament has already said that “Kashmir is ours”.
“Idea of India is incomplete without the idea of Kashmir. Kashmir is a part and parcel of India. It is Jammu & Kashmir which makes India, India,”said Ms. Mehbooba.
At the same time, she said, “We can move on certain things which can help take Kashmir out of the mess. I feel with these things and already there is a political process. Government of India has nominated a representative who has set the ball rolling and some internal things that we are trying to do, give amnesty to these youngsters.”
She spoke about the plight of the pellet victims and the initiatives she has been taking to rehabilitate them by helping them in education, etc., and felt it was really heart-breaking to see some of them even having lost both eyes.
“So, it is very sad and I think it is the duty of our country to see that J&K people are taken out of this present situation,” said Ms. Mehbooba
Speaking about government’s roadmap for rehabilitation of Kashmiri Pandits, she said,” We have already started it. In fact, it was my father in 2002, who started building these transit accommodations for Kashmiri pundits.”
She said that now they are trying to add more accommodation to those places because as far as the Kashmiri Pandits were concerned,”they feel more comfortable in the place where they have already started living for the last 5-10 years.”
“So we are already on the job and we are not only trying to get Kashmiri Pandits, but we are also trying to rehabilitate honourably the people who are staying in Kashmir. There are a few Kashmiri Pandit families, they may be a few thousands, trying to give them jobs, so that they should not have to bear the penalty of staying back,” she said.
Speaking about Kashmiri women and girls, the Chief Minister said that as far as girls are concerned, they play football, basketball volleyball, they go out of the state.
“They are going outside the country and they are getting laurels and they are doing a fantastic job. It is not as bad as you feel. Yes, there are some people. They are everywhere you know. There are people who do not want girls to wear jeans. They are around the country also. There are a bunch of people who are against it. It is everywhere. But that doesn’t mean girls in Kashmir cannot do what they want to do,” said Ms. Mehbooba.
Speaking about the present alliance and her late father’s thought process in this regard, Ms. Mufti said that his vision for this country for J&K was too broad and so big that his party had become very small.
“It is not just an alliance. He wasn’t for the formation of government. It had a much wider vision as far as he was concerned. It was to bring Jammu and Kashmir closer to each other. Valley and Jammu closer to each other. Valley and Delhi closer to each other and then also shake hands with the Prime Minister who has two-thirds majority behind him, who has the mandate of people of India behind him, who is in a position to take certain bold decisions, which can take Jammu and Kashmir out of the present situation. That is why the alliance. There are so many contradictions. No doubt about that. But his vision, his belief was so deep that even though we tried to dissuade him. He would not get dissuaded. He would say you do whatever you want to do... I am not, you know...,” she said.
