Balakote strike was a drama: Mehbooba Mufti

Srinagar: PDP president Mehbooba Mufti Monday said that Balakote strike was a drama and called for investigation into the Pulwama attack that left over 40 CRPF personnel dead.

Mufti was addressing a workers convention at Bijbehara in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district. She said that whatever the BJP has been doing over the past few months or could do in days to come is in the face of a possible electoral defeat in the ongoing parliamentary elections.

Earlier she accused the BJP of creating a fear psychosis under the guise of national security to prepare for another Balakot-like strike in desperation to win Lok Sabha elections.

“In its desperation to win this election, seems like misappropriation of our jawans sacrifices & polarising the electorate hasn’t helped BJP. Now they are creating fear psychosis by using national security as a guise to prepare ground for another Balakot-like strike,” Mehbooba, who was an ally of BJP in Jammu and Kashmir from 2015 to 2018, said in a tweet.

She was reacting to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s reference to Pulwama attack and the consequent air strike inside Pakistani territory by India Air Force.

“When they made their second mistake in Pulwama, we entered their home and conducted airstrike. Udhar walon ko bhi samajh mein aa gaya hai ki agar teesri galti ki toh lene ke dene pad jaenge (They also know that if they commit another mistake, they will be in real trouble),” the Prime Minister said at a rally at Moradabad in UP.

In another tweet the former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, while reacting to Modi’s speech at Kathua rally, said Kashmir belonged to Kashmiris and was not anybody’s heirloom to inherit.

“Kashmir belongs to Kashmiris. Not anybody’s heirloom to inherit. Self seeking politics is intentionally blurring lines between self & country, exploiting armed forces to grab power, fuelling communal politics & dividing the country in the name of religion. Kuch yaad aaya (do you remember anything)?” she said.

Mufti’s cavalcade came under intense stone pelting while she was back from a shrine in Khirram area of the district where she had gone to pay obeisance. The stone pelting attack left one of the vehicles in her cavalcade damaged and driver injured.