Srinagar: Jammu & Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti on Wednesday said she is thankful to PM Narendra Modi and home minister Rajnath Singh for taking personal interest in curbing militancy after the Centre granted her wish and declared a ‘conditional ceasefire’ by security forces in the state during the holy month of Ramzan.
Speaking to CNN-News18’s Mufti Islah, she said, “This is a step towards giving pause to violent incidents in Kashmir." She called it a victory not just for her government but for all the people of Kashmir as well as the leaders of other parties who had supported her demand for the cessation of army action.
Mufti had made a plea for a unilateral ceasefire by security forces in Kashmir following the killing of a Chennai tourist by stone-pelting protesters in Kashmir in the aftermath of the May 7 Shopian encounter. However, the CM said that the success of the ceasefire would depend on compliance by Pakistan and militants.
“I hope there is a positive response from the other side as well so there is a full-fledged cessation of hostilities and the bloodshed comes to an end. Pakistan and militants too will have to cooperate for the ceasefire to be a success so that we can end the bloodshed that has been going on for so long." Mufti said.
She added that the ball was in the court of militants now. Responding to the militant organization Lashkar-e-Taiba’s alleged rejection of the ceasefire, Mufti said, “If the militants do not stop hostilities now, then we would know that it is because they do not want to end the violence."
The order comes after weeks of sporadic violence in Kashmir which peaked after the army encounter of five Hizbul Mujahideen militants in Shopian on May 6, one of whom was a professor of sociology in Kashmir University.
Talking about educated Kashmiri youth taking up arms and militancy in the state, Mufti said that it was a cause of concern not just for the centre but for the Kashmiri government too.
“It is a concern for everyone that boys are getting killed. We do not want to lose our young to militancy. I myself am a mother and I can understand the pain of mothers who are losing their children. The ceasefire can be the starting point for more sustainable peace talks," Mufti said, even as she added that peace talks were a step-by-step process.
The CM made an appeal to Pakistan to cooperate in the ceasefire so that people in the valley could peacefully observe the holy month, starting Thursday.
However, within hours of the ceasefire being declared, reports started pouring in of violence in Shopian as militants opened fire on an army patrolling party in Jamnagri on Wednesday. The encounter is currently underway.
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