Thaindian News

Srinagar, Sep 19 (IANS) A day ahead of an all-party delegation’s visit to Jammu and Kashmir, Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti Sunday slammed the Omar Abdullah government, alleging it was attempting to “sabotage” the visit by reimposing curfew in the Valley. The state government has rejected the charge.
“The state government is bent upon sabotaging this visit…They are trying to create more anger by imposing curfew. Since the government has failed totally, they want to destroy everything as they go,” Mehbooba told reporters here.

She appealed to the all-party delegation to reach out to the common man. “There is no rationale in the curfew imposed… I appeal to the delegation to reach out to the common man, the people of Kashmir beyond what the Jammu and Kashmir government wants them to see and beyond all the mainstream parties.”

“The delegation must directly interact with the common man… The state government has brought Kashmiris in confrontation with the security forces. If you alienate your own people, where do they go?”

State Law Minister Ali Mohammad Sagar said that curfew has been imposed as a compulsion and not as a choice.

“Everyone is free to meet the delegation,” he said.

Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram will lead the all-party delegation to Jammu and Kashmir in a bid to defuse tensions in the state.

The team will visit the violence-hit Kashmir Valley Monday and the Jammu region Tuesday, as per the schedule prepared by the home ministry. The idea is to get a first hand impression of the situation on the ground before taking steps to defuse the volatile situation.

The Kashmir Valley has been rocked by a cycle of violence with retaliatory firing by the security forces on stone-pelting mobs resulting in the death of 101 civilians, mostly teenagers and youth, since June 11.