“Youth thinks it’s better for them to pick up arms and die”; Mehbooba Mufti makes a controversial remark

Srinagar: Former Chief Minister of J&K and Peoples Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti made a shocking remark that the youth in the Kashmir Valley have no option left but to pick up arms. Mufti said militancy has gone up ever since Jammu and Kashmir were first put under President’s rule and then bifurcated after the abrogation of Article 370 last year. ‘Militancy has increased in their tenure. 10-15 youth are together joining militancy from each village,” she suggested.

“Because you have suppressed the voice, people don’t have an option left. A youth thinks he can either go to jail or pick up arms. So he thinks he better to pick up arms and die. Because you don’t allow people to speak,” she stated. Mufti further advocated dialogue with Pakistan and China. “If we can talk to China, then why can’t we talk to Pakistan? We have been pleading with China to give us our land bank,” she told the press. The remarks came on a day when the People’s Alliance for the Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) moved the Supreme Court seeking an early hearing on a batch of pleas that have challenged the abrogation of Article 370 and bifurcation of the erstwhile state.