Mehbooba Mufti: Sacrifice of children won’t go waste; securitymen had no idea they were targeting Burhan Wani

She said when she was informed about the encounter, she asked police and paramilitary forces to exercise restraint. “The first thing I said was maintain discipline. I told them to keep control. They kept control till the last moment. By the time they felt they couldn’t any longer, pellet guns became more lethal than guns.”

Addressing a convention in Srinagar to mark the 17th foundation day of the PDP, Mehbooba Mufti referred to the young protesters who died in firing: “These children, who have gone, I promise you I will not let their sacrifice go waste.”

Read | Mehbooba Mufti lying about Burhan Wani, says NC provincial president Nasir Aslam Wani

“The sacrifice of these people, these children, the innocent children, should not go waste. An atmosphere should be created, of reconciliation and accountability as had happened during (former Prime Minister Atal Bihari) Vajpayee’s time when an era of dialogue had started, a good atmosphere was created and a ceasefire was implemented with Pakistan,” she said.

She accused the Opposition, without taking names, of instigating the protests. “Where there was curfew, it was peaceful. They went to villages and instigated people to come out… But people didn’t have the courage to ask them ‘Your children study in Bengaluru, Delhi, why don’t you ask them to come and throw a stone?’”

“Mufti (Mohammad Sayeed) Sahib used to tell me that we need to change the mindset of Delhi. We are saying we need to change the thoughts of people here but we will have to do it there (Delhi) as well. I will not work like this. An atmosphere has to be created where they (Delhi) can also move forward. Otherwise, everything will be lost.”

She said India and Pakistan need to resume their dialogue. But Pakistan, she said, needs to be told that “if guns couldn’t solve problems there, how they can solve it in Kashmir?”