Amidst wails at Balakote, Mehbooba bats for peace, dialogue, reconciliation

Bimber Gali (Mendhar, Poonch): Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti Monday made a passionate appeal for dialogue and reconciliation to get the State out of bloodbath and continued exchange of fire on the borders.
Addressing the people here after visiting the family which lost five of its members in Sunday’s cross LoC shelling, the Chief Minister said it is unfortunate that the people of border areas in the State like Poonch, R S Pura, Nowshehra, Uri, Karnah etc. are paying a heavy price in terms of continued shelling across the borders in the State. She appealed Prime Minister, Narendra Modi to take lead in getting Jammu & Kashmir out of this bloodbath and help these people in leading peaceful and normal life. She also appealed the leadership of Pakistan to see the logic of peaceful engagement and dialogue with India as wars in the past have yielded nothing except devastation, death and destruction.
Deputy Chief Minister, Dr. Nirmal Singh; Minister for Relief, Rehabilitation, Reconstruction & Disaster Management, Javed Mustafa Mir; legislators, Shah Muhammad Tantray, Choudhary Qamar and Yashpal Sharma were present on the occasion.
The Chief Minister recalled the decade long peace along the borders and an atmosphere of reconciliation within the State which followed after the then Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s initiatives of reconciliation and dialogue in the State. Similarly, she said, Prime Minister, Narendra Modi also took the bold step of visiting Lahore but unfortunately incidents like Pathankote almost stalled the process. Better late than never, she said adding that when she last met the Prime Minister she appealed him to act like an elder brother and persuade Pakistan for a peaceful engagement and work jointly against poverty, unemployment and deprivation.
Mehbooba Mufti assured the audience that she would continue to advocate cessation of hostilities along the borders and between the two countries as was pursued by late Mufti Muhammad Sayeed which gave the people of the State, particularly those of Poonch, a major relief and a sense of a peaceful life.
Terming the partition of the country as unfortunate, the Chief Minister said the people of the State never ever had wanted that but unfortunately are paying a heavy price of the same. “What was the fault of these five persons or this elderly mother”, she asked while referring to Sunday’s victims of cross border shelling. She said it is very unfortunate when people elsewhere are demanding better facilities, residents of border areas in the State are asking for bunkers, which is no less than a grave because incentives of development and progress are only meaningful when one is alive to enjoy them.
Describing the residents of border areas as country’s first line of defence, Mehbooba Mufti said these are the people who have guarded the territorial integrity of the State and the country. She said her Government has created two battalions of IRP comprising people of the border areas. She assured the people that whatever due would be done for them including creating avenues of employment, strengthening of health facilities and road connectivity.
Earlier on her arrival, the Chief Minister met the mother and other kin of the family whose members were killed in Sunday’s shelling. She assured them all help in their rehabilitation and on spot handed over ex gratia and other relief in their favour.
Chief Secretary, B B Vyas; Principal Secretary, Home, R K Goyal; Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, Rohit Kansal; Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, Hemant Sharma; IGP, Jammu zone, Dr. SDS Jamwal; senior officers of Army and Poonch district administration also accompanied the Chief Minister during her visit.