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Srinagar, May 18, 2023 (PPI-OT): In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, People’s Democratic Party (PDP) President Mehbooba Mufti has said that by holding a G20 meeting in Kashmir, the authorities are trying to present a picture of normalcy to the international community. Mehbooba Mufti talking to reporters in Srinagar said, “People are being harassed. Agencies like NIA, SIA and SIU are carrying out daily raids. Schools have been shut for 10 days while shopkeepers have been told to keep their shops open. Everybody is being threatened. In such a scenario, you want to present Kashmir as a trophy in the G20 by painting a picture of normalcy.
She said her party’s priority is not holding of Assembly elections but it is focussed on restoration of basic rights of the people in the territory. “Election is a distant issue. The priority should be restoration of basic rights of people which are being denied. People should have the freedom of movement and freedom of expression,” she added She said that if her party had resources, they would have fought in the Indian Supreme Court the cases of Kashmiri detainees lodged in various jails post-2019 as their families don’t have resources to mount a legal battle and their cases are rarely being heard.
On Home Minister Amit Shah’s remarks on Article 370, Mehbooba said she cannot engage on the importance of Article 370 with those who have destroyed the Constitution. “What do I tell them? The BJP is not respecting the constitution. BJP has implemented its communal agenda. They don’t know what the significance of Article 370 is,” she said.
On the violence in a Jammu medical college over “The Kerala Story”, Mehbooba said: “Unfortunately the BJP government is promoting such movies which spread hate and division in the society.” “We saw its results in the GMC, Jammu, where students were bathed in blood. The reason was the argument over ‘The Kerala Story’. I think the people need to act sensibly on such matters like the people of Karnataka did in the recent elections,” she added.
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