Militancy won’t end till govt wins hearts of Kashmiri people: Dr Farooq

Srinagar, Jul 13: National Conference (NC) President Farooq Abdullah on Wednesday said that militancy won’t end unless the central government doesn’t win the hearts of people of Jammu and Kashmir.
He said this while addressing party’s senior functionaries in a commemorative function held at the party headquarters Nawa-e-Subha, Srinagar.
“The caravan of terrorism will not end. Their (BJP) ministers and other leaders issue statements that it has ended, but I want to tell them that this will not end till you do not try to win the hearts of the people of Kashmir and seek its solution,” he said.
Condemning the killing of a police officer in Srinagar on Tuesday, he said people will keep on dying till a solution to the Kashmir issue in found. “His son was killed in 2020 by military (in an encounter). It is unfortunate that he (Ahmad) was killed by militants. We do not know who the killer is and who the saviour of the people here is. This is strange. We all condemn it and pray for him. We also pray for the family to bear this loss,” he said.
The party president also sought a handsome compensation from the administration for the slain policeman’s family so that they live with dignity.
Taking a dig at the administration for not allowing political parties to pay homage to July 13, 1931 martyrs, Dr Farooq said, “It is unfortunate that they not only cancelled its holiday but also stopped people from paying their tributes. Such repressive tactics don’t behove democratic countries.”
Party General Secretary Ali Mohammad Sagar, additional general secretary Dr Sheikh Mustafa Kamaal, Provincial president Nasir Aslam Wani, Chief Spokesperson Tanvir Sadiq, Senior leaders Mubarak Gul, Muhammad Syed Akhoon, Shameema Firdous, Ali Muhammad Dar, Peer Afaq, MP Hasnain Masoodi, Salman Ali Sagar, Syed Tauqeer Ahmed Shah, Ahsan Pardesi, Dr Sajad Shafi Uri, Sheikh Muhammad Rafi, Sabiya Qadri, GN Wani Tailbali, Dr Syed, Qaisar Jalali, JS Azad were also present on the occasion.
While recalling the sacrifice of the 13 July martyrs, Dr Farooq said the day is an important landmark in the history of Jammu and Kashmir which will never go out of sight. He stated the implications of the day thickened over time and resulted in the transformation of the state from a feudalistic to a democratic one. “The brave men who laid their lives on 13th of July 1931 belonged to a generation of wisdom, and vision. They saw in darkness and despair, a vision for the forthcoming generations; they envisioned a society free from bondage, discrimination and oppression,” he said.
“Every year we remember the supreme sacrifice of the martyrs of 13 July 1931 and the idea behind remembering them is not merely an act of reminiscing past, and memorializing. On the day, we should reiterate our commitment to the ideals of our revered martyrs, whose every drop of blood is sacred to us. Sher-e-Kashmir too has galvanized his life and mission with the supreme sacrifice of the martyrs that marks the shift from stoicism to dynamism. I on this day pay my earnest tributes to all the martyrs who laid their lives on that day to secure a new dawn of freedom for future generations. The martyrs of 1931 will continue to be a beacon of light for us and for the coming generations. Every single drop of their blood is sacred to us,” he said.
On the occasion Dr Farooq Abdullah also led party functionaries in offering Fateha for the revered martyrs of 1931.