National Conference leader Omar Abdullah led a delegation of Opposition parties to President Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday, and said that the problem in Kashmir was political, not administrative.
"I feel sad that what we wanted to hear from our political leadership is unfortunately coming from Army leadership. Northern Commander today thinks that there should be talks with all people who have a different mindset. So the question is, why our political leaders could not do this," Abdullah said after the hour-long meeting.
He also said this is the first time the Opposition is taking initiatives that the government should be taking. The group of 20 leaders submitted a memorandum to the president on Saturday, detailing the ground condition in Kashmir.
"Jammu and Kashmir is a political problem. It cannot be handled administratively. It cannot be handled by creating humanitarian crisis," Abdullah said. He added that because of this lack of acknowledgement, an already volatile situation "worsened."
We have requested the President to impress upon the central government to initiate a credible and meaningful process of political dialogue without any further delay involving all stakeholders to address the political issue in the state," the National Conference leader said.
Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, during a rally in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday, said, "We want to see pens and computers in the hands of Kashmiri youth and not stones and guns."
Postpaid mobile services across all the networks were restored in Kashmir after six days on Saturday. The Valley seems to have reached a boiling point with people on the streets protesting every day against violence by armed forces and curfews. Srinagar and other regions of Kashmir have been tense since Hizbul Commander Burhan Wani's death on July 8.
