Srinagar : Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president and former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti Saturday said every mainstream party in Kashmir used to speak “Delhi’s language”- to wage war against Pakistan and cage separatists.
The former chief minister said PDP emerged as a party that spoke a language of holding dialogue with Pakistan and resisted any ban on socio-religo party like Jamaat-e-Islami.
“We told Delhi that you cannot ban Jamaat and arrest other leaders of any religious party till anything is proved against them. We withdrew FIRs of youth against the wishes of BJP. We went for unilateral ceasefire, BJP was against it,” she told Kashmir News Service (KNS), in an exclusive conversation.
Mehbooba said that if talking a pro-Kashmir language for the welfare of people, if resisting ban on Jamaat and stressing for dialogue is anti-national, then what can I say,” she said.
Mehbooba said during her tenure she resisted all such tactics used by New Delhi. “I didn’t allow them to harass leaders like Mirwaiz sb, Geelani’s son and Salahuddin’s son. This, I didn’t allow them all this. Now they have started all this which in no way will help in solving a problem,” she added.
She added that Mirwaiz is not only a separatist leader but a religious cleric too, adding that a sitting operation was done on some separates leaders but why the others leaders like Salah-ud-din’s sons and son-in-law of Geelani continue to remain behind bars when nothing has been proved against them.
Mehbooba said her party is ready for polls and pitched that it would have been better to hold assembly and Lok Sabha polls together.
She said the Governor’s rule must come to an end as the amendments and other related things that were prevent by her regime in the State needs to be stopped. “In case such orders under Governor’s rule won’t be stopped, the interest of Jammu and Kashmir will get affected,” she said. Mehbooba said that the constitutional erosion being done by the Governor led administration will have serious consequences in Jammu and Kashmir.
She also said that to safeguard the Article 370 and 35A, she hired a senior Advocate Fali S Nariman but now the amendments are being made through the Governor led administration here.
Mehbooba also condemned the attack on NC’s block president in Bijbehara, saying that such attacks will naturally create fear among people ahead of the polls. (KNS)
