Mehbooba calls for end to 'spectre of war'; says 'NC wants more war and bodies'

SRINAGAR: With tension still running high between India and Pakistan, even as Operation Sindoor remains on pause, J&K’s former CM and PDP president, Mehbooba Mufti , Saturday said the spectre of war must end so that people can plan their lives and revive the economy. She accused the NC leadership of war-mongering, and said it wanted “more war and more dead bodies”.

“Jammu and Kashmir should be a bridge of understanding, friendship and cooperation, not a theatre for war,” Mehbooba said, addressing her party workers. She said her party was committed to peace and dialogue , and warned against the war rhetoric .

It was the people of J&K who bore the brunt of war and violence, the PDP chief said, comparing the region to “grass trampled under the feet of two fighting elephants”. “PDP will continue to raise its voice for peace and channel the sentiments of the people,” she said.

Mehbooba said the statements of the NC leadership, including party patriarch Farooq Abdullah ’s call for intensified military action against Pakistan, reflected a dangerous mindset.

Criticising Abdullah for reportedly supporting assaults “more brutal than the Balakot strike”, she said: “These leaders want more war and more dead bodies. It is only PDP that has consistently advocated for an end to hostilities and has spoken for the people’s right to live a life of dignity.”

The PDP President also expressed concern over the ongoing crackdown in the region.

“Our youths are being jailed, and the Public Safety Act is being misused. If such draconian measures were truly effective, incidents like Pahalgam would not have occurred. If the goal is to fight militancy, don’t wage war against the poor people of JK, many of whom are languishing in jails outside the state. Their families cannot even afford to visit them.”

Mehbooba said NC was constantly attempting to appease BJP at the cost of people’s interests and their own mandate. Referring to Kiran Rijiju, she said: “The minister who introduced the Waqf Bill was later welcomed and garlanded in Kashmir by the NC leadership. NC, despite having 50 MLAs, didn’t even allow a resolution to be passed in the J&K Assembly against the Waqf amendment.”