National Conference (NC) Member of Parliament Hasnain Masoodi Thursday said that the road to development in Jammu and Kashmir runs through peace, saying the idea of development was farfetched in uncertainty and deep despondency.
A statement of NC issued here said that speaking on the Budget 2021-22 in the Lok Sabha, Masoodi said that the two were inextricably linked.
He said Government of India’s policy towards Jammu and Kashmir must encapsulate all dimensions with peace building efforts at the heart of it.
The statement quoted Masoodi as saying that unless a positive environment was actualised by addressing the political aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, achieving anticipated development goals were unlikely.
“The government has misread eerie calm in Jammu and Kashmir as peace, the silence after the abrogation of Articles 370 and Article 35-A is no indicator of peace. The ruling dispensation at New Delhi is under false impression that they have silenced Kashmir by the harshest clampdown post August 5 measures but that tantamount to living in denial. Since J&K was unilaterally dismembered and sheared of its unique status, there has been a spur in the violence-related incidents,” he said in the statement. “There is no thaw on the armed encounters in which nearly 400 people including 200 forces personnel were killed. The prevalence of suicidal deaths of the forces has also seen a manifold increase.”