CM anguished, calls for end to border hostilities

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, May 23

Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti has expressed grave concern over the “painful and distressing situation” prevailing along the borders in Jammu and Kashmir in the wake of the latest spate of killings in cross-border shelling.

She called for immediate cessation of hostilities to safeguard the lives and properties of the people caught in the deadly crossfire.

The Chief Minister said while people in the mainland had heaved a sigh of relief due to the unilateral ceasefire announced by the Central government, time had come to extend the confidence-building measure to the borders. She said Pakistan needed to respond positively in the larger interest of peace and stability in the region. “It is the life and property and the sense of security of the people of J&K which are in the line of fire. Every bullet or a mortar shell fired hits only the residents of this state on either side,” the Chief Minister said. She expressed anguish over the killing of civilians in fresh shelling along the International Border in Jammu on Tuesday night.

The Chief Minister said it was painful to see everyday loss of precious human lives, destruction of properties and large-scale migration in border areas of the state due to the hostile situation along the borders. “The images of an eight-month-old baby with bullet wounds on his body are perhaps not enough to shake the conscience of humanity in the region and put an end to this senseless bloodletting,” she said, adding that both India and Pakistan shall have to put an end to this hostility to safeguard the lives of the people.

She stressed the need for building a strong peace initiative from within the state. She said displaying statesmanship, former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had opened a new chapter in the blood-soaked history of India and Pakistan by responding to the urge for peace and dignified resolution during his historic visit to Srinagar in 2003.

“The people of the state, especially those living in border areas, had experienced entirely new-found peace and an environment of security after the 2003 ceasefire with Pakistan,” she said, adding that it had marked a clear departure from the history of hatred and hostility in the region. Conveying her heartfelt sympathies and solidarity with the families of the victims of border firing, Mehbooba said there was no reason why the political leadership of India and Pakistan would not employ a similar peace initiative as the one taken by Vajpayee so that the hawks on both sides were silenced and the people of J&K got a reprieve from constant war and the threat of it.

Appeals to women to promote peace 

Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Wednesday appealed to the women of the state to play their role in promoting peace and prosperity. Addressing a gathering of women employees, the Chief Minister said women had been the worst victims of situational uncertainties and they should play their role to promote the peace process in the state. “As mothers, wives, daughters or sisters, women in the state have suffered hugely due to the continued violence in the past three decades,” she added.