Panaji: Stating that India would be incomplete without Jammu & Kashmir, chief minister of the state, Mehbooba
Mufti said that it was important to break the siege that the troubled state was going through. Mufti went on say that it was vital to balance military intervention with peaceful redressal mechanisms to diffuse the strife-torn situation.
"You never know when there is a hartal called, or a curfew called, and after that there will be a protest call," Mufti said while speaking at a private function in Goa. "There is a mental siege, there is an emotional siege and there is an economic siege, and this has to be lifted."
The lady chief minister accepted that there was a small segment of people within J&K who held anti-India and pro-Pakistan views, but added that these notions were impractical.
"Restoring roots to the outside world will help replace the idea, which is there in some people who are anti-Indian and pro-Pakistani or pro-azadi. There are a majority of people in Jammu, Kashmir, Ladakh who are of the idea of a single India," Mufti said.
She, however, said that the spirit of nationalism within the Kashmiri people could not be inculcated overnight. She highlighted the role played by the former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee who had successfully initiated steps to bring about 10 years of peaceful duration.
"Jammu & Kashmir should become a hub. We can make it a model state for SAARC cooperation. SAARC is being held hostage to the animosity between India and Pakistan. We need to develop Kashmir so that it becomes a part of a bigger thing, but also maintain its identity," Mufti said.
She also urged the country to look at Jammu and Kashmir as the crown of the country saying, "Idea of India is incomplete without the idea of Kashmir. Kashmir is a part and parcel of India and we are not dealing with an enemy state, we are dealing with our own."
