Mehbooba Mufti calls all-party meeting to discuss Kashmir unrest
Mufti has asked for a collective effort to get the State back on course.
Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti, has called for an all-party meeting on Thursday to discuss the prevailing situation in Kashmir Valley.
An official spokesman said that invitation for the meet has been extended to the leaders of all mainstream parties including ruling PDP-BJP combine and opposition National Conference, Congress, CPI(M), CPI, National Panthers Party, Democratic Party Nationalist and Peoples Democratic Front besides some others “to discuss the prevailing situation and the measures to be taken to restore peace and normalcy in the Valley”
Meanwhile, the Chief Minister has asked for a “collective effort to get the State back on course”. She also asked the administration to reach out to the people to mitigate their sufferings.
“The Government is taking various measures to restore calm and it needs support of every section of the society to normalise the situation to end the miseries of the people,” Mufti said while speaking at a high-level meeting of the administrative secretaries held here on Monday to review the situation on the governance front.
At the meeting which was attended also by Chief Secretary, B. R. Sharma, and other senior functionaries of the government, the Chief Minister said that apart from loss of precious human lives and injuries to scores, the local economy, especially the tourism sector and education have taken a big hit because of the ongoing turbulence in the Valley.
She said it was the responsibility of every section of the society including the political leaders, media, the religious heads, the business community, the prominent citizens and especially the emancipated youth to rise to the occasion and help the government in restoring peace and normalcy in the Kashmir.
The Chief Minister said the ministers and other government functionaries have been asked to reach out to the people and work with the local civil society groups for speedy restoration of peace and normalcy in the affected areas so that the public do not face any hardships.
Asking officers to lead from the front in reaching out to the people and mitigating their problems, the Chief Minister stressed the need for infusing new life in the institutions at the cutting edge level to address the developmental concerns of the public.
Mufti said unemployment is a matter of grave concern and every section of the society including individuals, institutions and organisations have to be brought together in a spirit of creative enterprise to widen the economic and employment space for the State’s youth and channelise their energies productively.
She asserted that the government is responsive to the people’s needs and concerned about their problems and is working judiciously and in a transparent manner to fulfil their aspirations and expectations.
She sought to elucidate that her priority is strict implementation of the rule of law and called for keeping a strict vigil on the activities of the “anti-social elements who in the garb of law and order situation indulge in encroachments and misuse of State’s resources”.
The officials informed the meeting that the situation has stabilized in most of the districts and except for some sporadic incidents of protests and stone-pelting the overall law and order scenario has improved substantially.
While taking a review of the condition of injured and availability of medicines and other equipment in hospitals, the Chief Minister was informed by the Commissioner Secretary Health and Medical Education Department that out of the 2,115 persons injured during the prevailing law and order situation, 1,924 have been discharged from the hospitals while 191 are still undergoing treatment including 70 persons with eye injuries.
The meeting was informed that there are adequate quantities of blood, medicines and other requisite facilities available for the injured in all the hospitals and no patient needs to be shifted outside the state for treatment. The Chief Minister directed that besides providing free medicines