KL Desk
Srinagar
Accusing the Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde of being ignorant of facts and reality on ground, National Conference (NC) Additional General Secretary Dr. Mustafa Kamal said that he failed to understand what Delhi meant by the term “peace”.
“What kind of bird is it that Delhi would term as ‘peace’”, Kamal said while reacting to the home minister’s statement where he had laid complete peace and normalcy as a precondition for revocation of Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA). In a statement ,Shinde had said that the Armed Forces Powers Special Act (AFSPA) would not be withdrawn from Jammu and Kashmir until the situation in the state was completely peaceful.
“Shinde seems to be unaware of the ground reality of the state. Central agencies which work here are not giving complete information to centre and this is the reason why Shinde thinks peace has not returned to Kashmir”, said Kamal while talking to media persons at the sidelines of a Panchayat Raj function at Nawaisubh on Wednesday.
“13 lakh tourists from across the country and world visited the state this year, lakhs performed Amarnath Yatra and lakhs visited Mata Vaishno Devi, if it is not peace what else is it that Delhi calls peace?”, questioned Kamal.
“Name the bird which state government should show to Shinde to make him believe that peace prevails in Valley”, said Kamal. He said that there is complete peace in the state.
Kamal said that time is ripe to revoke the controversial AFSPA from the state. “AFSPA is the biggest hurdle in establishing peace and is cause of various troubles to the common people. Time is ripe to draw it out from the state”, said Kamal.
Speaking about the coalition government, he said, “Coalition is for remaining in power and it is not a Political alliance. Both NC and Congress have different political perspectives and NC is representing the sentiments of the people of state”, said Kamal.
Speaking about the Parliament convict Afzal Guru, he said that Mani Shankar Ayer had made it clear to India that India should bury Parliament and Mumbai attacks and should go for establishing friendly atmosphere. “Law will take its own course but the capital punishment of Guru should be converted in life sentence as there seems lot of lacunae in the decision. It is the public opinion and President of India should pay respect to this opinion”, said Kamal.
Earlier, addressing the Panches and sarpanches, he said that accord with India was conditional. “India had made various promises with the State of J&K and it (India) should fulfill all those promises”, said Kamal.
Speaking about the Indo-Pak relations, he said that both countries should engage in meaningful dialogue. “Until India and Pakistan resolve Kashmir issue, people of the state will have to suffer”, said Kamal