Srinagar, Feb 16: Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chairperson and former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti on Wednesday said that revocation of Article 370 has made resolution of Kashmir issue more complicated.
Responding to a query over the ‘frequent house arrests’ of PAGD leaders on the sidelines of a condolence meet at Pahnoo Shopian, Mehbooba said; “PAGD aims to restore the honour and dignity of Jammu and Kashmir. Thousands of our youth are jailed outside, our journalists who bring forth the reality are jailed, commoners are being harassed. PAGD raises its voice on these issues, the central government does not want someone to talk about the reality – they want that a message be carried that everything is normal in J&K.”
She added: “They want to give an impression that by revocation of Article 370, they have solved the ‘Kashmir dispute’. But it is contrary to that. After revocation of Art 370 they have made the Kashmir dispute more complicated to be solved. They are muzzling the voices of people. Children of poor families are held in jails outside, how come the parents of such children would go there. Every time PAGD raises its voice on such issues, it pinches the Central Government”, she said.
On Hijab Issue, Mehbooba said: “There are diverse religions in India who wear different dresses, eat differently, but BJP wants to create Godse’s Hindustan (India) and asks to wear same dresses; they ask not to don caps (skull caps), don’t do Hijab, don’t eat meat and ask to speak in one language – This is not Hindustan, this is not Gandhi’s Hindustan.”
“I believe that one day the people of this country will wake up and won’t let this Hindustan of Gandhi to become Ghodse’s Hindustan”, Mehbooba said adding “the ploy behind this Hijab issue is to keep our girls away from education, but I believe that our girls are wise and courageous, they won’t let their education suffer.”
On Delimitation Commission Draft, the PDP chairperson said that no one was happy with it. “They have dissipated the constituencies and joined different areas”, she said.
“Journalism is a great profession but our government restricts the journalists here from speaking the truth with we having the examples of Fahad Shah and Sajjad Gul, how the cowardly government blindfolded them for telling the truth”, Mehbooba said adding, “People in Jammu and Kashmir are being held captive by the cowardly government using the words white collar and hybrid militant(s).” gns