She said that the pervasive feeling of despair and disillusionment has gripped J&K and it necessitates a broad consensus over and above the party lines to pull J&K out of the current debilitating stalemate.
Mufti wrote to J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Leader of the Opposition in the assembly from BJP Sunil Sharma, J&K Congress president Tariq Hamid Karra and other political leaders while referring to the recent developments in Ladakh, where Apex Body Leh and Kargil Democratic Alliance managed to break ice with the central government in New Delhi and in principle agreed for safeguards under Article 371 for Ladakh. She said that the developments in Ladakh offered an Important lesson that only dialogue can deliver meaningful outcomes. She urged Abdullah to call a joint meeting of all stakeholders.
The J&K CM responded to Mufti, saying that the letter to him was now in the public domain and he would be sending her a reply, similarly routed, once he would consult senior party colleagues.
The former chief minister proposed a united political initiative, urging leaders to set aside differences and jointly advocate for the resumption of meaningful dialogue on Jammu and Kashmir. Mufti said the time has come to make a united outreach to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah and prevail upon them to initiate a sustained dialogue with the people of J&K. She said that a collective voice is essential to represent the aspirations, grievances, and concerns of the people of the region at the national level.
“J&K finds itself yet again at a crossroads in its history where the pervasive feeling of despair and disillusionment has gripped the state. It necessitates a broad consensus above and across party and partisan lines to pull J&K out of the current debilitating stalemate. If we want to restore the dignity and security of our people, a constructive dialogue with Government of India is a much needed imperative,” Mufti wrote. She said that the political parties have to keep disagreements and contrarian views on the back-burner to unite for the common good and collective welfare. “This cannot become a matter of appropriating political credit or point scoring. Rather it must become a moment of unification in the largest interest of people we all claim to represent,” she said.
Mufti said Abdullah as the head of J&K should initiate the “much needed process of bringing all parties together through an official meeting” as his support is prerequisite for the success of this platform. “This will set the ball rolling for us to formally reach out to the Central government. Given the fact that disagreements and squabbling between regional parties have been detrimental to the collective interests of J&K a reasonable consensus especially post 2019 is the only solution. If Ladakh could do it so can we,” she said. Mufti said that genuine unity in these difficult un precedented times can lead them towards restoring rights and dignity of people guaranteed by the Indian constitution.
