Restore people’s democratic rights: NC

Srinagar: National Conference on Friday said that the idea of peace is elusive until GOI takes immediate steps to reinstate a sense of entitlement in the people of Jammu and Kashmir by restoring them their democratic rights and trusting them with basic civil liberties.
Party’s Additional Spokesperson Sarah Hayat Shah said the violence along the LOC, IB has come to an end as a result of renewed diplomatic outreach by India and Pakistan but internally in Jammu and Kashmir the situation continues to remain on edge. The brutal political killings, and other targeted killings of civilians and police personnel have raised serious questions on the tall claims of GOI regarding the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, she said. “The data that is in the public domain punctures the claim that nullification of state’s status has reduced the conflict. Contrarily the promised new dawn of peace and prosperity remains elusive to this day. The recurring targeted killings have become part of the new norm now. The GOI has failed to protect the lives of people and live up to its promises which it had made in the run up of unilateral measures of 5th of August 2019,” she said.
Alluding to the spur in the incidents of violence she said, “Not even a day passes when we don’t get to hear about killings. The prevailing scenario reveals the magnitude of the crumbling security situation in Kashmir. It goes without saying that if the indifference of New Delhi continues the way it is, the situation will continue to deteriorate with each passing day to a point of no return. The political void, suppressing of saner voices and underlining of mainstream political democratic space is also a reason behind the spike in the violence. The policy paralysis in New Delhi with reference to Jammu and Kashmir is taking a heavy toll on its people,” she said.
She said that New Delhi has failed to harness the dividends achieved by the successive NC governments to further peace in Kashmir by realization of its solemn pledges it had made to its people from time to time. On the contrary, she said New Delhi chose to subvert the entire decadal gains to just implement an individual party agenda at the cost of the country’s supreme interest. “The agenda which was realized had nothing to do with the development in Jammu and Kashmir. The successive months and weeks since August 5, 2019 didn’t see any development happening on ground. On the contrary the entire region has suffered on every front ranging from economy, agriculture, tourism, handicrafts to health and education sectors. The claims of GOI on its new version of Naya Kashmir lay bare. The promised sea of change is not visible on ground. Leave apart Kashmir, even the people of Jammu and Ladakh are feeling cheated,” she said.