Not Throne, Mehbooba wants Peaceful J&K

Aakash Hassan

ISLAMABAD

Mehbooba Mufti at PDP’s membership drive in Islamabad on Sunday. (KL Image: Shah Hilal)

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president, Mehbooba Mufti Sunday said that she “doesn’t want CM chair mere for development but to ensure peaceful J&K”.

PDP started its membership drive last Sunday from Srinagar and today, Mehbooba addressed her party workers at Dak Bunglow Khanabal.

Accompanied by her party colleagues including Sajad Mufti, Abdul Rehman Veeri, Nizam Ud Din Bhat, MLAs representing Kokernag and Dooru, it was Mehbooba Mufti’s second public meeting after the demise of her father and former CM Mufti Mohammad Sayeed.

J&K is without a public government ever since Mufti breathed his last on January 7 in AIIMS, New Delhi. Mehbooba asked BJP led Union government to announce J&K specific CBMs to continue alliance in J&K.

“My father didn’t know in which class we are studying, just because he wanted to make sure that every child of Kashmir goes school,” said Mehbooba, “because he knew Kashmiris have suffered a lot and they are not unfaithful but victims.”

While terming that the lack of leadership “as the cause of Kashmiris’ agony and suffering”, Mehbooba said, “everyone wants just to grab the seat of power.”

“But it was my father, first as Union Home Minister, then as Chief Minister while in coalition with Congress and at the far end of his political career, he cared for people not the chair. It was his vision that cross LoC trade and Ceasefire came into existence,” Mehbooba said.

Without revealing anything about government formation, Mehbooba said, “I don’t want mere chair but I want peace in the state. We joined hands (with BJP) earlier not for the CM’s chair but for the welfare of people.” “That was our challenge and that will remain so.”

Praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his Pakistan visit, she said, “my father while in hospital at AIIMS told me that this is what he wished because peace in Kashmir is only possible when India and Pakistan come together,” adding that former Prime Minister Manmohan was unable to do same in his 10 years of tenure and “he even couldn’t visit his birth place”.

Asking her party workers to support her, she said, “I don’t have even my father here but if I have anything that is my party worker.”

Unlike her first public appearance last Sunday in Srinagar, Mehbooba skipped speaking to media today.

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