Welcomes Rajnath’s statement on reaching out to everybody in Kashmir
Anantnag: Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti today said the people of Kashmir would have to understand that violence was not an answer to anything and dialogue was the way forward.Mehbooba said this in response to a question asked by mediapersons regarding the civilian killings during an encounter in the Chadoora area of central Kashmir’s Budgam district today. The Chief Minister was speaking to the media on the sidelines of a workers’ convention of the Peoples Democratic Party in the Kokernag area of Anantnag district today.Three civilians were shot dead amid clashes between the security forces and local youth, who were trying to give an escape route to the militants near the encounter site in Budgam district today.“The common people will have to think about this,” Mehbooba said. “Militancy has been going on in Kashmir for many years and thousands of people, including civilians, militants and security personnel, have been killed. But the killings have fetched us nothing at all,” she said.Mehbooba maintained that there was nothing positive in violence, and, if at all anything could be achieved, it would be through dialogue and peace.The PDP convention was also attended by Mehbooba’s brother and PDP candidate for the Anantnag Lok Sabha bypoll Tassaduq Mufti.Mehbooba also welcomed Home Minister Rajnath Singh’s recent statement in which he said that the time was right to talk to everybody in Kashmir. “We welcome the Home Minister’s statement wholeheartedly. During the unrest last year as well, a team was sent by New Delhi to talk to separatists. I also wrote to the separatists, urging them to talk but, unfortunately, they did not,” Mehbooba said.She hoped that the separatists would come forward this time around and avail themselves of this opportunity. (Tribune News Service)