SRINAGAR: On the 68th day on Friday, the J&K government has admitted that the stalemate over abrogation of Article 370 and splitting of the state into two Union territories has continued to disrupt normal life in the Valley, with shops and businesses remaining shut, public transport being off roads and no education being imparted in educational institutions. It, however, blamed separatist and militants for the situation.
It maintained that diktats and threats issued by militants are stopping traders and transporters from resuming normal work, and students from returning to their classes.
The J&K government contradicted its own claims of return to normalcy in Kashmir when advertisements paid for by it appeared in local newspapers stating: “Closed shops, no public transport? Who benefits? Are we going to succumb to militants? Think!!!”
The advertisement alleged that people of J&K have been misled for over past seven decades “with a vicious campaign and motivated propaganda that has kept them trapped in an endless cycle of terrorism, violence, destruction and poverty.”
Acknowledging that “we’re at the crossroads today”, the government asked: “Will threat and misinformation prevail or will we take informed decisions on what is best for us?”
