Omar, Mufti call for calm

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, February 17

Two former Chief Ministers of the state have issued appeals for calm amid mounting tension due to growing incidents harassment and violence against Kashmiris living outside the Valley.

Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah said attacks against Kashmiri students meant that there was “no future in the mainland” and also cautioned about the “vicious propaganda”.

“(It is) tragic that educated and civilised citizens are spearheading a vicious propaganda to paint all Kashmiris with the same brush. What is the difference between you and those who indoctrinate vulnerable men for jihad?” Mehbooba said on Twitter.

Omar, who is the vice-president of the NC, said Kashmiri students studying outside the state should have been “feted as examples of people who have stayed away from the politics and conflict in Kashmir, choosing instead to make a future for themselves”. “By attacking them, terrorising them and forcing them to find shelter, they are being told there is no place for them outside the Valley and no future in the mainland,” he said.