Announce employment package for J

Srinagar, Apr 21 (UNI) Urging Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to announce a special employment package for the unemployed youths of Jammu and Kashmir, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president and MP Mehbooba Mufti said presently about one lakh jobs are vacant which would be filled up through fast track recruitment on merit basis in a transparent way.

Addressing a public meeting at Bijbehara in south Kashmir district of Anantnag today, she expressed hope that Dr Singh on his visit will announce a special employment package for Jammu and Kashmir's qualified but unemployed youth.

Dr Singh will also return the Dulhasti Power project to state, she said.

''Unemployment is no doubt a biggest challenge and despite National Conference's (NC) agreement with the then Central government, we upgraded thousands of schools recruiting Rehbar-e- Taleem (RT), established colleges and universities in order to provide an employment opportunity to our youth, she said.

We are for fast track recruitment plan as 70,000 to one lakh posts are lying vacant with different departments and those would be filled up on merit basis in a transparent way,'' She added.

She calimed that her party changed the status quo on Kashmir without challenging the sovereignty of India and Pakistan.

Ms Mufti said given the historic pretensions of India and Pakistan neither of the two neighbouring countries can politically afford to gamble with Kashmir's future.

Ms Mufti said PDP brought a wind of change slowly whispering its way across the South Asian sub-continent and is heralding unforeseen amendments to the existing political climate of Kashmir.

She said her party not only got the state government's role in resolution of Kashmir problem recognised at national and international level but mustered and represented the genuine aspirations of people which were always neglected by the successive government in the past.

''Our agenda based on pro-people policies was not only objected but sabotaged under different garbs by different political parties at the state and national level,'' she observed and added that PDP has resolved to fight these forces with the support of people in order to bring Jammu and Kashmir out of socio-economic and political quagmire.

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