Srinagar: Speaking to a group of youth workers and activists from Anantnag at NC Head Office in Srinagar, NC Spokesman Junaid Azim Mattu said that Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s “healing touch” policy was nothing beyond a marketing smokescreen to hide Mufti Sayeed’s questionable human-rights record in Kashmir.
Accusing Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and PDP of misrepresenting history and misleading people, Junaid Mattu said that Mufti Sayeed’s gamesmanship created innumerable new wounds rather than healing one single wound in this State. After making tall promises, Mufti Sayeed left no stone unturned to hound and harass Kashmiris and had even advocated the creation of a “Voluntary Force”, taking after the “Peace Brigade” of 1950s which was used to harass and target people in the Valley. It was Mufti Sayeed who advocated the commissioning of the “J&K Voluntary Force” and empowered Village Defence Committees by issuing thousands of semi-automatic weapons to them in bulk.
Stating that Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s PDP government picked up from where he had left as the Home Minister of India, Junaid Mattu said that the PDP coalition government slapped 2276 cases of Public Safety Acts and allowed gross human rights violations despite their marketing hype to the contrary. Stating that only 205 cases of PSA were invoked in 2012 including cases of Timber Smugglers, Junaid Mattu said that comparatively Mufti Sayeed slapped 378, 516, 372 cases of PSA in 2003, 2004 and 2005 respectively. The Omar Abdullah led government, despite the turmoil of 2010 worked on a systemic and passionate level to extend amnesty in such cases.
Speaking to the youth activists from Anantnag, Junaid Mattu said that besides dismantling the concrete bunkers created during PDP rule, the Omar Abdullah led coalition government got 1,555 schools, hospitals, hotels and private buildings vacated by security forces. 54 bunkers have been dismantled in Srinagar City alone since 2009 followed by hundreds of concrete bunkers being removed from various towns across the Valley. There has also been a considerable and visible reduction in the deployment of para-military forces in urban areas since 2009 besides a whopping 71% decline in overall militancy related incidents.
Stating that the Omar Abdullah led government had simplified and liberalized the procedures for issuance of clearance for passports, Junaid Mattu said that more than 3 lakh passport verifications were cleared between 2010 and 2013 alone and Omar Abdullah has reiterated this government’s intention to further liberalize the procedure for security clearance for issuance of passports. It was Omar Abdullah who announced the Amnesty Scheme for individuals involved in incidents of stone-pelting – the success of which can be measured by the fact that more than 1800 individuals involved in 230 cases have been granted amnesty by the State Government.
Junaid Mattu said that while PDP government opposed the Rehabilitation Proposal mooted by an MLA during their tenure, it was the Omar Abdullah led government that ensured the return and rehabilitation of hundreds of youth who have returned from across the LOC thus far.
The NC Spokesman said that it was Omar Abdullah led government that brought in the much-needed amendment in the Public Safety Act of 1978 in April 2012 by making the law more humane and less vulnerable for misuse and abuse. While Mufti Mohammad Sayeed only spoke about healing the wounds of the people, Omar Abdullah left no stone unturned to usher J&K into an era of reconciliation, peace, reprieve and development. It is Omar Abdullah who went above and beyond the beaten track to give relief and peace to the people of J&K. (GNS)