ISLAMABAD: Mehbooba Mufti, President of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), has strong criticized the BJP-led Indian government, accusing it of transforming occupied Jammu and Kashmir into a restrictive environment where freedom of expression is stifled and people face repression.
Speaking at a public gathering in Rajouri, as reported by Kashmir Media Service, Mufti condemned the BJP for imposing what she described as a prison-like atmosphere in the region, where people are unable to speak freely. She said that residents of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, including the Dogra community in Jammu and the Buddhist population in Ladakh, are discontented, with Kashmiris enduring particular hardship due to what she termed as a state of terror.
Mufti further criticized the government for allegedly selling off the region’s assets, including power projects, land, mineral resources such as sand and sapphire mines, lithium deposits, and water resources, to outsiders. She said that they get costly power supply despite the region’s resource abundance.
Mufti argued that the revocation of Article 370 had inflicted more harm than benefit, refuting claims of development in Jammu and Kashmir since its revocation by pointing to persistently high unemployment rates and allegations of corruption in recruitment processes.
Additionally, she dismissed Indian Home Minister Amit Shah’s remarks to restore statehood to occupied Jammu and Kashmir as empty rhetoric aimed at garnering votes, accusing his party of stripping the region of its identity and oppressing its people.
