Reconciliation Only Way Forward Between India-Pak: Mehbooba

PDP president Mehbooba Mufti on Sunday called for the revival of ties between India and Pakistan, stating that “reconciliation” is the only way forward to ease tensions.

Responding to questions about the current situation in Jammu and Kashmir and the recent encounter in Kulgam, Mufti said, “Encounter used to happen and will always happen, but such a huge war took place before that. The ceasefire had to be declared later. Unless reconciliation, dialogue, debate and discussions are done, such encounters will go on, and we will always stay on the verge of war. Reconciliation is the only way forward.”

Terrorists killed 26 civilians in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam on April 22 in a brutal and heinous attack. India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) in response.

Meanwhile, security forces continue their operation in the Akhal Devsar area of south Kashmir’s Kulgam district. One terrorist has been neutralised so far in the joint operation by the Indian Army, Jammu and Kashmir police, CRPF, and the Special Operations Group (SOG). The encounter began on Saturday and continued overnight.

A day earlier, ahead of the sixth anniversary of the revocation of Article 370, Mufti launched a sharp attack on the BJP-led Central government, saying the policy to strip Jammu and Kashmir of its special status has “completely failed.”

“Six full years have passed since August 5, 2019. At that time, Jammu and Kashmir’s special status was taken away, and Article 370 was revoked with the claim that everything would be fine in Jammu and Kashmir. But we have seen that the policy has completely failed,” she told reporters.

Mufti alleged that the internal situation in the region has deteriorated rather than improved, pointing to ongoing security crackdowns.

“Internally, the situation in Jammu and Kashmir is bad. For the past six years, arrests have been made daily. The situation in Jammu and Kashmir has become worse than before, although people are silent today. This is why our country has come into confrontation with Pakistan. What is Pakistan’s stature? Their economy is not even a tenth of our economy, but today the whole world is comparing us with them,” she said.

The former Chief Minister also criticised what she termed the BJP’s “aggressive policy” and its broader impact on regional diplomacy.

“Unfortunately, the BJP has created such an atmosphere in the country that today all groups are saying, why did you agree to a ceasefire? This is the BJP’s aggressive policy.” (ANI)