Mehbooba Mufti asks PM Modi to pick dialogue with Pakistan over hostilities, cites deaths on either side
PDP chief and ex-J&K CM Mehbooba Mufti (Pic credit: PTI)
SRINAGAR:
PDP chief
and ex-J&K CM
Mehbooba Mufti
sought to distance herself Thursday from what she said was 'the edge of catastrophe', becoming the first mainstream politician to urge PM
Narendra Modi
to 'choose dialogue' over an offensive against Pakistan for the terrorist attack on tourists in Pahalgam.
'With every passing moment of escalation, more lives hang in the balance.
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It is painfully clear that there can be no military solution, only more suffering,' she said.
Posting pictures on X of two children killed in Pakistani shelling in Poonch,
Mehbooba
said loss of lives on either side was a reminder of the human cost of conflict. 'Now, more than ever, peaceful co-existence and engagement must serve as our only instrument,' she said. 'Only through sincere and sustained efforts can we deescalate tensions and begin the hard work of restoring peace.'
PDP legislator Waheed Para joined in the appeal, saying J&K had always borne the brunt of India-Pakistan hostilities. 'I think it is a time when dialogue should start,' Parra said after visiting some of those injured in shelling along the LoC in Jammu.
After the April 22 massacre by terrorists in Pahalgam, Mehbooba had called a shutdown in the Valley to protest the Pakistan-backed attack.
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