Srinagar, Sept 17: Making an appeal to the militants to abjure the path of violence, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed has asked the gun-wielding youth to appreciate the yearning of the common masses for peace and normalcy. " A lot of blood has been spilled and thousands of people killed. This must come to an end," Mufti said addressing a public meeting at Chrar-i-Sharief town, 28 km from here, in Budgam district yesterday.
He said democracy was a battle of ideas where there was no room for killings. Everybody was free to express his views in a democratic manner and the government would not snatch away the right of speech of the people, Mufti said.
" We do not believe in keeping people holding opposite views in jails," he said adding the coalition government was engaged in creating a free atmosphere where nobody feels suffocated.
He said his government was committed to changing the destiny of the people, and also noted it had taken his coalition government some time to convince the people that dialogue and not the gun was the right way to address a problem.
Mufti said while he was counseling the gun totting youth to shun the path of destruction, his government had made it clear to the security forces that human rights violations would not be countenanced.
The Chief Minister maintained that his resolve to restore peace with dignity in the state was unyielding.
Bureau Report