PM Modi 'only hope' for resolution of Kashmir dispute, says Mehbooba Mufti

New Delhi: On Saturday, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said he is the only hope to address the 70-year-old Kashmir issue once and for all. He alone can help the people of the state in these troubling circumstances, she added during the inauguration of a much-awaited flyover in Jammu. "If anyone can take us out of this quagmire, then it is Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He has the mandate. Whatever he decides, the nation will support him," Mufti said reported news agency ANI and added "The previous prime minister also wanted to visit Pakistan, but could not. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Lahore is a proof of his abilities, an example of his moral authority." Mufti recalled that her father Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and then PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee also tried to resolve the Kashmir situation, but since then no efforts were made by subsequent governments. Interestingly, recently, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti after a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi over Kashmir unrest and growing issue of stone-pelting, addressed the media and demanded that the ruling dispensation at the Centre must follow the footsteps of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and reach out to the disillusioned and angry youth. As per Mufti, this is the apt way to restore a peaceful atmosphere in the state for governance. Talking to the media, Mehbooba said, “A conducive atmosphere is required for talks and governance. "We must start from where Vajpayee ji left... Modi ji has repeatedly said that he would follow the footsteps of Vajpayee ji, whose policy was of reconciliation, not confrontation. There is no option but to talk," she asserted. The Chief Minister also said that she discussed the violence in the state, which took place after recent by-poll to Srinagar Lok Sabha constituency, which witnessed lowest turnout ever."I discussed the issue of less voting percentage in the recent elections and security situation in Jammu and Kashmir with Prime Minister Modi," she said. "I pressed that Jammu and Kashmir don't have control over water resources, and how losses caused by the Indus Waters Treaty can be compensated," she said, adding the Prime Minister has assured assistance in this regard. The meeting comes in the wake of recent incidents of violence, including the clashes between security forces and civilians during the Srinagar by-elections. Prime Minister Modi had earlier on Sunday urged all the Chief Ministers to take care of the students from Jammu and Kashmir in their respective states. His assertion came after Mehbooba raised the issue following an assault of six Kashmiri students of Mewar University in Rajasthan by some locals. The meeting assumes significance in the backdrop of several video clips surfacing in recent times, purportedly showing human rights abuses by the security forces. The Chief Minister later called on Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh. Meanwhile, fresh clashes were reported between police and students in Srinagar.