Better late than never: From LoC, Mehbooba pitches for J&K peace

Visits bereaved family, hands over relief cheques; directs bunkers construction

JAMMU, MARCH 20 : A day after five members of a family were killed in Pakistani shelling, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Monday made a passionate appeal for dialogue and reconciliation to get the State out of bloodbath, urging Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take the lead in taking Jammu and Kashmir to peace.

The chief minister who visited the unfortunate family in Bhimber Gali sector of Mendhar area of Poonch said she would continue to advocate cessation of hostilities along the borders and between the two countries and also appealed to the leadership of Pakistan to see logic of peaceful engagement and dialogue with India as wars in the past yielded nothing except devastation, death and destruction.
Mehbooba said that when she last met Prime Minister Modi she appealed him to act like an elder brother and persuade Pakistan for a peaceful engagement and work jointly against poverty, unemployment and deprivation.

Dialogue and reconciliation is needed to get the state out of bloodbath and continued exchange of fire on the borders, she said.

She appealed to the prime minister to take lead in getting Jammu and Kashmir out of "this bloodbath and help people in leading peaceful and normal life".

It is unfortunate that the people of border areas in the state like Poonch, R S Pura, Nowshehra, Uri and Karnah are paying a heavy price due to continued shelling across the borders, she said.

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.

Prime Minister Modi also took the bold step of visiting Lahore but unfortunately incidents like Pathankot stalled the process, she said.

Terming 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 fivepersons or this elderly mother?”, she asked referring to yesterday'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 were asking for bunkers.

Describing the residents of border areas as country's first line of defence, she said these were the people who 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. The chief minister 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 in Balakote, Bimber Gali, Mehbooba met the mother and other kin of the family whose members were killed in yesterday’s shelling.

She handed over cheques of Rs. 25 lacs as ex gratia to the next of kin of the deceased, besides cheques of Rs. Three lacs each for meeting the educational expenses of the two daughters of the family who too were injured in yesterday’s shelling incident.

She also announced bearing of all expenses coming on the treatment of these two surviving family members. She also assured that the brother of the deceased breadwinner of the family would be given job by the Government to sustain the family.

The Chief Minister also announced construction of 15 community bunkers in Balakote area besides stationing of one bunker vehicle for the help of the local people. Besides, she also announced strengthening of health facilities including a trauma hospital, road connectivity and other facilities in the area.