Says peace in J&K cannot be achieved through force

Srinagar: National Conference (NC) President and MP from Srinagar Dr Farooq Abdullah on Friday asked the government of India to shun its stubborn attitude and reframe its Kashmir policy.

NC president was addressing party workers, functionaries and delegates in Central Kashmir’s Magam hamlet.

Lamenting the my way or the highway attitude of the ruling party at New Delhi, Dr Farooq said that the people of Jammu and Kashmir, particularly Kashmiris are paying a heavy price for the Centre's Kashmir policy.

“While the government and its air dropped administration in Kashmir is busy in its usual pomp and show, the people of J&K continue to suffer from rising unemployment, development deficit, inflation and deepening alienation all at the same time as never before. All the democratic institutions in Jammu and Kashmir have been diluted to fit in the vision of a particular political party,” he stated adding, “There is fear, anxiety, concern, and insecurity everywhere. Our people, particularly our youth, have been pushed to the margins.”

The votaries of muscular policy in Kashmir, Dr Farooq observed, need to take a step back and ask themselves if such a policy has succeeded elsewhere in the world. “The post 2019 policy landscape of Kashmir has no space for dialogue. It only relies on obliterating the legacy and icons of the region’s constitutional and historical uniqueness. This has to change. There can be no headway without changing this. Peace cannot be achieved through force,” he said.