Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah on Tuesday asked the Centre to address the root cause of political instability and alienation in Kashmir, saying crushing the sentiment by use of force would not only be futile but also highly counterproductive.
Every phase of political unrest in the valley, including the present one, is a manifestation of a prolonged, systemic erosion of faith in Kashmir.
"What happened on August 9, 1953 continues to remind the people of Kashmir about how New Delhi has chosen to either suppress the political sentiment here or deal with it through an operational prism with a perpetually short-sighted, fire-fighting policy.
"Unless the root cause of the political instability and alienation in Kashmir is addressed constitutionally and politically, crushing the sentiment by use of force is not only futile but also highly counterproductive," Abdullah said in a statement here.
The former Union Minister expressed grief over the loss of lives. He cautioned the Centre over the worsening situation in the valley, saying it was important for the government to acknowledge that the genesis of the Kashmir turmoil lies in the "injustice of August 1953 when a popular, democratically elected Prime Minister of J&K (Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah) was illegally overthrown to suppress the political sentiment in Kashmir".
Abdullah welcomed parliamentary discussions on the current situation in Kashmir and said Parliament needs to acknowledge and understand the root cause of alienation and unrest in the valley and accepting the criminal nature of the injustice perpetrated against the people of J-K on August 9, 1953 would be a good start to an open-ended, broad-minded introspection at the national level.
Prevarication and deflection of responsibility won't help anymore. The problem in Kashmir is about the people of Kashmir and their political aspirations, it is neither about any other country nor about terrorism.
"New Delhi has to engage with the people of Kashmir who are the primary stakeholders in the political issue and also the rightful final arbiters of their destiny," he said.
