Mehbooba Mufti has lot to answer for after Kashmir unrest subsides: Omar Abdullah

Srinagar: Criticising the Mehbooba Mufti led-government in the state over deploying large number of Border Security Force (BSF) personnel in schools, former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday said the former needs to answer about lots of things once the situation in valley stabilises.

“This is a very dangerous situation and what is the reason behind this I don’t know. The BSF doesn’t have anything to control the crowd and maintain law and order in the state. BSF doesn’t have anything equipment or shield to control the crowd. They are not standing with lathis but with guns. God knows what will happen if they get stuck in any crowd. Mehbooba Mufti has to answer to a lot of things. But first it is important to get control on the situation after which we will get answers from the government,” Abdullah told ANI.

Expressing hope from Union Minister Rajnath Singh’s visit in Jammu and Kashmir, Abdullah said “We will continue to press the government for issues both short term in of excessive use of force in terms of injury and loss of life on account on the pellet guns, but also the medium to long term which initiation of the sustained meaningful dialogue to find what in the word of Prime minister is a lasting solution.”

Abdullah said that it is important to initiate dialogue with the stakeholders of the Jammu and Kashmir to bring back peace in the state and overcome the unrest from the past 50 days.

The Border Security Force (BSF), which was deployed in Srinagar on Monday after a gap of 12 years, occupied several school buildings in Srinagar to set up their camps.

BSF personnel were deployed in the commercial hub of Lal Chowk in the city and adjoining areas for law and order duties.

Earlier in the day, the Home Minister arrived in Srinagar on a two-day visit to Kashmir during which he will review the situation in the valley.

Singh, who may hold talks with a cross section of people, is likely to emphasize the various development projects and employment schemes undertaken for the youth in the Valley.

The Home Minister, who is accompanied by Union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi, earlier tweeted that he would interact with civil society groups, political parties and other stakeholders in Kashmir.

This is the Home Minister’s second visit in a month to the valley, which has been witnessing unrest since the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani on July 8.

The visit comes following Prime Minister Modi expressing deep concern and pain over the situation in Kashmir. (ANI)