Srinagar: National Conference delegation led by party General Secretary Ali Mohammad Sagar called on Governor SP Malik at the Raj Bhavan here on Friday and discussed the existing appalling security situation, unbridled human right violations and mounting anger of the youth.
The delegation comprised former ministers and senior leaders Abdul Rahim Rather, Chowdary Muhammad Ramzan, Ms. Sakina Itoo and Saifullah Mir.
In an hour long interaction with the governor, the delegation reiterated party’s concern over the unabated human rights violations across the valley. “Despite repeated assurances coming from the state and central government the human right violations continue to happen every other day. People have now lost faith over such assurances resulting in large scale disenchantment among all sections of the society particularly the youth,” the delegation said.
Urging the governor to initiate a conciliatory process with the alienated educated youth to instill a sense of security in them, the general secretary said, “a sharp rise in militancy in Kashmir over the last four years is a direct consequence of the alarming level of alienation in Kashmir witnessed during PDP-BJP combine We are concerned about Catch and Kill Policy where youngsters are not given a chance to return back to mainstream. Such acts add to the alienation and anguish on the ground and need to be stopped.”
National Conference has been of the consistent opinion that J&K issue is political in nature and deserves a sustained, holistic and comprehensive political engagement with all the stakeholders. “The recent minimal poll percentage across the valley has proved beyond doubt that holding ULB elections was not the right decision in the backdrop of central governments confusing stand on states special status,” he said.
The general secretary said, “We have always respected the governor’s office and will continue to do so. We have a record of working in unison with successive governors of the state and therefore we in our party vouch for an affable connection with the Governor’s office. Keeping up with our values, our leadership welcomed and looked forward to work with the new governor to bring everlasting peace to the ailing and bruised state of Jammu & Kashmir.”
Reiterating that National Conference has always promoted progressive, secular and democratic values in the state, the delegation said, “The institutions that we cherish today have been nurtured by our party over a period of time. It pains us to see when such institutions are being fiddled with politically.”
Expressing concern over the undue praise of certain political outfits by governor Sagar said, “This is highly unbecoming of the governor’s office to praise some parties and ridicule others. The PDP-BJP combine has ruined the state after taking over in 2015. Their only achievement is disenchantment towards mainstream politics which has seeped into the psyche of Kashmiris particularly the youth.”
“We appreciate the way Mr Malik has unequivocally underscored the role played by New Delhi in pushing the Jammu and Kashmir to wall and we expected that a conciliatory process will start which will impress at the helm of affairs in New Delhi to initiate some CBMs but to our dismay that has not happened.”
“What was more disturbing is utter silence of the governor’s office on the barbaric killing of two of our colleagues in Habba kadal area days before ULB polls. We anticipated a strong condemnation from the governor’s office on the killings,” he said.
The delegation implored upon the governor the duress the people of valley are going through owing to the iron fist strategy employed by the government to contain the situation.
The delegation said that the governor took note of their assessment of the situation and assured them that he had already ordered the concerned to show maximum restraint while dealing with the situation.
