J&K Oppn leaders meet Rahul over prolonged unrest

With Kashmir under curfew for the last 44 days, former state chief minister Omar Abdullah on Sunday led a joint delegation of opposition parties for a meeting with Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi where he pitched for efforts to find a political solution to the violent unrest which has claimed 64 lives so far.

The delegation had called on President Pranab Mukherjee yesterday and would meet PM Narendra Modi on Monday. The opposition leaders from the troubled state asked Gandhi to make efforts at the national level for finding a “political rather than administrative” solution to the current spell of unrest, the longest in recent memory, in the aftermath of the killing of militant commander Burhan Wani by the security forces on July 8.

The PDP-BJP government in Jammu and Kashmir led by Mehbooba Mufti has been flayed by Abdullah’s National Conference and other opposition parties for “creating disaffection” in the Valley, particularly among the youth, by trying to find an administrative solution to end the current spiral of violence. 

“Discussed the current political crisis in J and K with a delegation of opposition leaders from the state led by @abdullah_omar (Omar Abdullah),” the Congress leader tweeted after the meeting. CPI-M MLA M Y Tarigami, who was part of the delegation, told Gandhi that the ongoing stir in Kashmir should be considered a national problem.