Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti said on Wednesday that the Centre should consider declaring a ceasefire in the state during Ramzan so that both the Eid and the Amarnath Yatra would be peaceful.
Mufti briefly spoke to the press after a four-hour meeting with the leaders of all political parties in the state at Sher-e-Kashmir International Conference Centre (SKICC) on the banks of the Dal Lake in Srinagar.
The meeting was called to discuss the grim political situation in the state and unabated killing of militants and civilians.
''All parties agreed to appeal to the government of India for a ceasefire on the occasions of Eid and Amarnath Yatra on the lines of Atal Behari Vajpayee's unilateral ceasefire in 2002 so that people get some relief,'' Mufti said.
She said the encounters and search operation are causing a lot of inconveniences to the people.
''As Ramzan and Yatra are coming, we must try to take steps that will help restore the confidence of the people of the state,'' she said.
''An atmosphere needs to be created in which Eid as well as the Yatra pass peacefully.''
“Some parties suggested that we meet the prime minister and express our concern about the situation in Jammu and Kashmir and discuss with him how to implement his August 15, 2017 statement that the situation in Kashmir will be rectified only by hugging the people and not by abusing them,” Mufti said.
She said all parties which attended the meeting expressed concern over the situation and the killings of young boys and the stone-pelting incidents. In the latest incident, R. Thirumani (22), a tourist from Chennai, died in a hospital on Monday after being hit by a stone during clashes between security forces and protesters in Narbal area.
The chief minister said the meeting has agreed that the Agenda of Alliance between the PDP and the BJP, ''which is a visionary document'', should be implemented as it "provides a roadmap" about dialogue and other confidence-building measures.
''Everybody agreed that by implementing the agreement between the PDP and the BJP, the situation in Jammu and Kashmir can improve,'' Mufti said.
Meanwhile, National Conference leader Ali Muhammad Sagar demanded that Operation All Out launched by the security forces be stopped.
“If the chief minister wants to diffuse the situation and address the alienation, some extraordinary steps need to be taken,'' Sagar said. ''Talks should be held with separatists and Operation All Out should be stopped.'' He further said night raids and search operations should also be stopped.
Congress leader Ghulam Ahmed Mir felt the chief minister is helpless.
''She neither wants to leave power nor is she in a position to solve people's problems,'' Mir said.
''We told her to take the agencies on board and talk to the government so that there is a ceasefire on the occasion of Ramzan,” he said.