Don't do unto us what you don't want others to do unto you: Mufti tells Pak

Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Sunday sent a stern message to Pakistan and said 'don’t do unto us what you don't want others to do unto you’.

Criticising the neighbouring country for meddling with India’s internal affairs, Mufti said, “Pakistan itself has suffered enormously from terrorism and militancy and is using bombs, drones and much more to eradicate the menace from her soil. Many terrorists have been hanged to death. Also tough measures like Operation Lal Masjid were carried out against extremists.”

 “But, unfortunately, if our security forces kill militants in encounters Pakistan describes them as freedom fighters and martyrs to encourage our other youth to take the path of violence,” she added.

 “Hamare bachon ko kiyon oksato ho (why do you instigate our children),” She asked.

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Ms. Mufti who met visiting Union Home Minister, Rajnath Singh, at the head of the members of her ‘Council of Ministers’ at the Nehru Guesthouse in the foothills of Zabarwan rage here to discuss the ongoing turbulence in Kashmir Valley which has claimed more than fifty lives told waiting reporters that Islamabad in its fight against terror sought financial aid and other assistance also from the United States and proudly mentions domestic terrorism successes.

“But when we do something similar, they salute the men killed in encounters. It is share hypocrisy,” she said. She also sought to convey to Pakistan and others that terrorists have now even reached the doorsteps of the abode of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad, a reference to July 5 suicide bombing outside the Masjid-e-Nabvi or Prophet’s Mosque in Medina.

The Chief Minister said that when Parliament terror attack convict Afzal Guru was hanged in Tihar jail after he was picked up from serial number 28, singled out, proper constitutional procedures were not followed and the execution was carried out without the family's knowledge which was “travesty of law” many people in India-intellectuals, academia, journalists, human rights groups and even some political parties criticised it and sided with his family.

“We live in that country”, she said but added, “I also want to say if Kashmir outlives, entire country will live on. Kashmir hai tou muluk hai.” Elaborating, she said if Kashmir aches entire country will ache... If situation in Kashmir turns bad, the entire country will have to take the brunt.” She further said, “We have to safe our riyasat (state), we have to save our country.”

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She asked for turning the ongoing turbulence in the Valley into an opportunity and said the then Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, had made a good beginning to address the issues in Jammu and Kashmir.

“He took some bold initiatives and also made a sincere effort to involve Pakistan into a process of peace and reconciliation. We need to pick up the threads from where he left it (peace process). We would be doing that not for Pakistan but in our own interest,” she asserted. She added, “Even today people do talk about the Confidence-Building-Measures that were initiated by Vajpayeeji and ask for replicating them. P. Chidambaramji has said that AFSPA must go.”  

Talking about the violent incidents across the Valley she said that she has learnt the “miscreants” and other “vested interests” have after joining these diverted otherwise peaceful processions towards police stations and the camps of various security forces. “People were incited to attack these installations and many civilian casualties occurred in retaliations from the security forces. But now people have begun to understand the game plane,” she said.