Srinagar: As the entry of Taliban and Al-Qaeda into J&K is making rounds member parliament and People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Chief Mehbooba Mufti is also apprehensive saying the crisis in Iraq and withdrawal of NATO forces from Afghanistan may spill over to Jammu and Kashmir.
She blames the Omar Abdullah led government for this saying the state has already become a breeding ground for militant related activities, but the “anti youth” policies of the ruling dispensation has further put the state at risk as increasing number of youth are joining militancy. “The State Government is deliberately making a breeding ground to have fall out of Iraq and Afghanistan on J&K.”
Mehbooba holds the state government responsible for forcing the educated youth to pick up the guns. “The youth are suppressed to such an extent that they are even denied the passports if their relatives are found having militant links even some 20 years ago.
“This has denied the youth to grab the job opportunities in foreign countries,” she said.
Mehbooba said she has got reports that most of the educated youth who became militants in recent past were facing harassments from the security forces,” she said this while citing some recent few incidents in which it has allegedly come to the fore that security forces push the youth to pick up the guns.
“Even the highly educated youth like engineers and doctors were forcibly picking up the guns. It is a grave concern for us. The youth are being tortured and harassed on various pretexts,” said the PDP chief.
It may be mentioned here that recently it was reported in media that several families had alleged that their educated sons were being harassed by the security forces on the pretext of one or the other, which was the main reason that they had joined the militant ranks.
Mehbooba said this place has seen a lot of violence and youth are no more interested to revive the gun culture, but circumstances are forcing them to do so.
“During Mufti Muhammad Sayeed regime a peaceful environment was created across the State, but the present coalition government has failed to carry forward that peace process and pushed state back to square one. The NC, Congress even failed to take reconciliatory measures of PDP forward,” she said.
She said the biggest challenge before the new Central Government is to deal with the Kashmiri youth who are again being forced to join militant ranks and has to address this serious issue.