Kashmir unrest was ‘pre-planned’, only handful involved: CM

Jammu, Aug 22 (PTI) Contending that the unrest in Kashmirwas "pre-planned", Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti today said a"handful of people" were deliberately keeping the Valley onthe boil while 95 per cent people were peace-loving and shouldnot be punished for the fault of 5 per cent. She expressed pain that children are being used as ashield by "vested interests" while attacking camps and postsof security forces to incite them, as a result of whichinnocent kids become a casualty. Mehbooba also sent out a message to those raising "pro-azadi" slogans, asking them to see the condition of Muslims inIslamic countries like Pakistan, Syria, Turkey and Afghanistaneven though these nations have "freedom". She said once gunmakes inroads in a society, then the meaning of ‘azadi’ islost. "I have been saying that gun will not solve anything.Stones also will not solve anything," she said at a publicmeeting here, while underlining that anybody having anygrievance should come forward to discuss it through talks. Contending that she had planned so many developmentalprogrammes to be pushed after Eid, she said the unrest was"pre-planned" as "vested interests" were keen to latch on tosomething to trigger unrest. "I don’t understand what happened… people were waitingfor a chance. Whenever the situation becomes little better inJ&K, tourism starts, work begins, something or the otherhappens which creates problems in normal functioning,"Mehbooba said. "After the Assembly (session) was over, we had decided towork more. But after (her) Assembly (election) result and Eid,all this began," she said. Referring to the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commanderBurhan Wani in a gunfight, the Chief Minister said, "there wasnothing new in this. Killing of militants has been happeningfor the past 25 years. I want to tell you this because allthis was pre-planned. They were waiting for a reason, a chanceto put the state back into that fire in which it was always." She said, "they (those indulging in violence) are only ahandful of people. Most Kashmiris want peace. They understandthat the kind of freedom Kashmir is enjoying today is notthere even in Islamic countries like Afghanistan, Syria,Turkey and Pakistanis. When gun enters a country, it is nomore free, no matter how much it claims to be free." (MORE)PTI AB NKS AKKAKK