Unilateral ceasefire needed for peaceful Eid, Amarnath Yatra: Mehbooba Mufti after all-party meet

In the wake of the death of Chennai tourist in Jammu and Kashmir due to stone pelting, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Wednesday held an all-party meeting and discussed measures to restore normalcy in the valley.

Talking to reporters after the all-party meet in Srinagar, Mehbooba said that "It was the unanimous decision of all the parties during the meeting that the Government of India should consider ceasefire during Ramadhan in Kashmir."

"Everyone agreed that we must appeal Centre that the government must think about a unilateral ceasefire like Vajpayee ji did in 2000. Encounters and crackdowns are causing trouble to common man. Efforts must be made to maintain environment so that both Eid and Amarnath Yatra are peaceful," she said.

She said that an all-party delegation would also meet the Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss the outreach.

"Everyone agreed that if agenda of alliance between BJP & PDP is followed, then situation in J&K can be changed. Everyone also agreed that we meet PM Modi & express our concerns over situation in J&K & discuss how we reach out to the people of J&K," she said, according to ANI news agency.
On Monday, a 22-year-old Chennai resident S Thirumani, who was holidaying in the Valley with his family, died after his vehicle was attacked by stone pelters.

Upset over the incident, Mufti had termed it as "murder of humanity", something she said was unheard of in the state of Jammu and Kashmir.

Last week, six civilians died and some others were injured in clashes with the security forces after five local terrorists, including an assistant professor of Kashmir University, were killed in an encounter in south Kashmir's Shopian. Of late, there has been a spurt in such clashes, with locals thronging encounter sites.