Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) President and former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Thursday said that Kashmir, once described by Mahatma Gandhi as a “ray of light,” is today being seen and treated as a place of criminals.
Speaking on Gandhi Jayanti, Mehbooba said that people of Jammu and Kashmir, their houses, businesses, and even government employees are being labeled as “criminals” and “anti-nationals.” She expressed grief over the recent attachment of the house of late separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani, where his 80-year-old widow lives.
“Your differences may be with Geelani, just as our ideological differences are with the RSS, but targeting an old widow by seizing her home is unfair,” she said as per KNS.
She also pointed out that the government has attached schools, trusts, and other institutions in Kashmir. “What have you done to this place? Everything is being criminalized people, houses, and institutions,” Mehbooba said.
Referring to global conflicts, she remarked that while the world talks about peace in Gaza, “Kashmir, which stood with India against Pakistan in 1947, is being turned into a jail and treated as criminal.”
Mehbooba warned that such actions will only increase distances and reduce chances of reconciliation in the future. “The government has no jobs to offer, no good hospitals, no proper roads. Instead, it seeks votes by creating division between Hindus and Muslims,” she added.(KNS)
