Minister for Education, Naeem Akhtar today said the tragic events that took place in Kashmir during the past few months are another unfortunate chapter in the State’s awful history.“What happened in the valley during the past few months is a collective loss for all of us,” Mr Akhtar said while replying to the discussion on the prevailing situation in Kashmir in the Legislative Council today.The Minister expressed sorrow on unfortunate addition of chapter of violence in Kashmir’s history, adding that the situation has left people across the state grieved and saddened."The tragedy of 2016 unrest and associated misfortune is neither a result of failure of government policies nor the fault of political system but a perpetual cycle of violence triggered in the state by vested interests", the Minister maintained.Expressing immense grief over the loss of lives and injuries, Mr Akhtar said the youth killed during the unrest were all our children. Describing the events of 2016 as tragic, he said it is not something that has been created by the Government or the opposition but is the latest chapter in the vicious cycle of violence and death and destruction in the Valley.“In some way or the other we all are responsible and cannot shy away from owning the responsibility for the macabre incidents,” he said and expressed the hope that it will be the last chapter of its kind.He said the Government has always been in favor of talks to resolve the issues confronting Jammu and Kashmir and its people and we have to sit together to find a solution to the enormous challenges facing the State.
Speaking on the alliance, the Minister said that the alliance formation cannot be blamed for any situation because it is not merely the alliance formation itself that leads to conflict or resolution of issues. He said the alliance was formed following a genuine democratic process which resulted in its formation.On the statement of one of the members that people were apprehending the situation to turn bad after the month of Ramadhan, the Minister said there were a series of events that were being used to target the Government, including the issues of Pandit and Sainik colonies, industrial policy etc. He said despite repeated clarifications on part of the Government, inimical forces tried every trick to instigate people against the Government. It was however the encounter on July 8 in which Burhan Wani was killed that provided such elements an opportunity to provoke the people into taking law into their own hands, which unfortunately resulted in casualties and injuries to large number of people.He said that the state has been a victim of politics that has resulted from various accords and power-sharing arrangements.He said that Agenda of Alliance is a roadmap to solution to such issues and the people of Jammu and Kashmir should send a message of peace, reconciliation and stop the blame game.Legislators who earlier participated in the discussion include Bashir Ahmad Shah Veeri, Ghulam Nabi Monga, Zaffar Iqbal Manhas, Vibod Gupta, Qaiser Jamshid Lone, Jugal Kishore Sharma, Saif-ud-Din Bhat, Ramesh Arora, Showkat Hussain Ganai, Naresh Kumar Gupta, Yasir Reshi, Ashok Khajuria, Ali Mohammad Dar and Firdous Tak.