PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday sought the intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the immediate release of the Kashmiri students who have been arrested in Agra on the charges of sedition after they celebrated the victory of Pakistan against India in the T-20 cricket.
Mehbooba wrote a letter to the PM urging him to intervene so that the future of these “young bright minds is not destroyed”.
“Wisdom deems it prudent for this government to engage with them, understand their aspirations & goals,” she wrote.
“Patriotism & sense of loyalty has to be cultivated with compassion & can’t be forced by wielding the baton or by the barrel of a gun. Such punitive actions laced with contempt will only further the sense of mistrust & alienation between the younger generation & rest of the country.”
“Political parties & their fortunes will wax & wane over the course of time. But what matters most is the future generation that will have to carry the burdens of the past yet strive to fulfil the expectations of a better tomorrow. Especially when it comes to a state like J&K steeped in its history of repeated betrayals & past wounds,” she told the PM.
Mehbooba told the PM; “I write to you with a deep sense of disappointment & concern about the alarming situation in Jammu and Kashmir. Not too long ago when you presided over an all party meeting in Delhi you expressed your intention to remove ‘dil ki doori’ between Delhi and J&K. In my capacity as the President of PDP, I suggested a few confidence building measures that would have provided a sense of relief & breathing space to the people of J&K.”
“We had been waiting for the roll out of a policy to address the hearts and minds of people, especially youth. While the spree of raids, arrests, killings continue unabated, the level of repression and state intolerance has touched a new low,” she wrote.
Referring to the recent 4-day J&K visit of Home Minister Amit Shah, Mehbooba wrote; “There were expectations that HM’s recent visit to J&K would have led to a meaningful reach out. Especially after his statement about engaging with the youth here. Instead what followed was shocking and worrying. A friendly cricket match between India & Pakistan that was solely a source of entertainment for people was bruised by incessant lockdowns, internet gag & restriction of movement led to booking youngsters under the draconian UAPA for simply choosing to cheer the winning side. Our brightest young people pursuing professional courses like MBBS have been targeted and slapped with anti terror laws. While within Kashmir youth are no strangers to the state excesses, three students in Agra too have been arrested & charged with sedition for the same reasons. This despite the college’s own admission that they didn’t engage in any activity that might be construed as anti national.”