'Muscular policy' won't work in J&K, we believe in 'healing touch': Mufti

Asserting that reconciliation and dialogue are the only way forward, outgoing Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti on Tuesday said muscular policy will not work in Jammu and Kashmir.

She said that PDP believed in 'healing touch' policy, adding that unilateral ceasefire brought peace in the valley.

"The alliance with the BJP was part of a bigger vision. It took us many months to form an alliance whose prime focus was reconciliation and dialogue. We took many months to form a common agenda, she said.

"The tussle between both parties was over Article 370. There can't be muscular politics in J&K, the PDP works on healing touch policy. I am not shocked by the BJP's move, this alliance wasn't about power it was about what we wanted to achieve out of it," Mufti said.

"The alliance was about dialogue, unilateral ceasefire and making sure the Prime Minister has an open route to talk to Pakistan. We took back cases against 11,000 youths, we have tried the best from our side to continue this alliance," she added.

"Our stand was that Article 370 will not be taken back and we wanted the special status for the state to continue. I have submitted my resignation to the governor and have told him that we are not looking to explore any other alliance," she further said.

The People Democratic Party's (PDP) Mehbooba Mufti on Tuesday submitted her resignation as Jammu and Kashmir chief minister to state governor N N Vohra.

Mehbooba's move came shortly after the BJP announced it was pulling out of its alliance with the PDP in Jammu and Kashmir.

Since the two parties came to power in 2015, there had been a series of disputes - over PDP's promises of talks with separatists, the proposal to remove AFSPA or the Armed Forces' Special Powers Act that gives sweeping powers to the army in insurgency-hit areas, and the rollout of the government's flagship Goods and Services Tax.