Death sentence to three Kashmiris unfortunate: Mehbooba Mufti

SRINAGAR - Opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti Thursday termed the death sentence given to three Kashmiri men for the 1996 Lajpat Nagar blasts as “most unfortunate” and said the Kashmir issue needs “a more compassionate and restrained response” from the government to prevent further violence.

Mehbooba was the first to react from the mainstream Kashmiri political camp on the death penalty to three Kashmiris by a Delhi court for the 1996 Lajpat Nagar bomb blast in which 13 people were killed.

In a statement, Mehbooba said “Kashmir is an unresolved political problem and such tragedies flow out of the inability of India and Pakistan to resolve this six decade old tragedy”.

She said, “The Lajpat Nagar case is not the first in the long story of bloodshed associated with the Kashmir problem but looking at this problem purely on technical and legal levels would only add to the complexities that have prevented a solution so far.

“It was encouraging that there has been a countrywide debate on the approach on the Maoist extremism. But by contrast, the Kashmir problem is being addressed only through force and a bureaucratic disposal.

“Kashmir too needs a more compassionate and restrained response from the state to prevent the recurrence of violence in any form”.