Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti today appealed country’s political leadership, cutting across party lines, to listen to the voices of pain from Jammu & Kashmir and support the people of the State in getting out of it.Interacting with a large number of youth from various parts of the State here today, the Chief Minister said it was high time for the entire country to support the people of the State in getting out of the vicious cycle of killings and uncertainty. She said Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, as the most powerful political executive of the country can lead this peace project by responding to the need of putting a stop to the bloodshed in the State which has been going on for almost three decades now.Mehbooba Mufti said peace, reconciliation and dialogue form the core of Agenda of Alliance reached out between the two ruling Parties and it is the belief in Prime Minister Modi’s leadership abilities and his political clout that the people of the State are looking up to for the resumption of the same. Our State and the whole region, she added, expect the Prime Minister to revive the spirit of former Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s initiative and also expect the other shades of political opinion in the country to avoid falling into the trap of old partisan politics and instead support such an initiative which, she hoped, would get the State out of the uncertainties and herald into an era of progress and development.Recalling the Prime Minister’s remarks about Kashmir on Independence Day, the Chief Minister hoped the same to be translated into reality by everyone in the country dealing with the affairs of the State.
“From media to administration, strategic community and the security forces, everyone will have to be part of this national effort”, she said. It is high time, she added, that enough hope is generated to persuade young men from going on a violent path by creating their stakes in peace and life rather than in death and rebellion.A successful peace process in Jammu & Kashmir, Mehbooba Mufti said, alone can fulfill the objectives of democracy and justice in the country. India, she said, can truly don the moral leadership of the region by increasing the level of satisfaction of the people of the State by winning their trust and hearts and minds.Terming youth as a treasure of the society, the Chief Minister said young boys and girls from the State have scripted many big success stories despite difficult times and many of them are proving their mettle in the country and across the globe. She said the positive energies of our youth can be better harnessed only in an environment of peace and amity. She said violence in the contemporary world has lost its relevance to resolve issues.On the initiatives of the Government, the Chief Minister said a huge developmental offensive has been unleashed by her Government in the State and also lot of investment is being made by the country in all sectors, including the Prime Minister’s Developmental Package, but the specter of violence and uncertainty prevents it from taking centre stage of the discourse.On the occasion, youth from different areas of the State shared their views about various issues and challenges facing the State and the ways to get out of them.