Mehbooba Mufti urges J&K leaders to begin Ladakh-like ‘united outreach’ to PM Modi, Amit Shah

Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Tuesday wrote a series of letters to political leaders from the Union Territory, including Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, calling for a “united outreach” to the Union government.

Mufti said that the recent “breakthroughs” achieved by the Leh Apex Body and the Kargil Democratic Alliance in their negotiations with the Union government offered a lesson that “only dialogue can deliver meaningful outcomes”.

The Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party chief said that the Union Territory had once again found itself at a crossroads where it has been gripped by the “pervasive feeling of despair and disillusionment”.

In her letter to Abdullah, Mufti said that the situation in Jammu and Kashmir “necessitates a broad consensus above and across party, and partisan lines to pull J&K out of the current debilitating stalemate”.

“If we want to restore the dignity and security of our people, a constructive dialogue with the government of India is a much needed imperative,” she added.

Mufti said that the leaders in Jammu and Kashmir should make a “united outreach” to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah and “prevail upon them to initiate a sustained dialogue” with the people of the Union Territory.

She added that leaders from Kashmir will need...

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