"Era Of Suppression" In J&K Must End To Make PM's Dialogue Process Credible: Mehbooba Mufti

"Give the people right to breathe and rest will follow later," former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti said

PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti today said the dialogue process initiated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Jammu and Kashmir's mainstream leadership can gain credibility by ending what she called an "era of oppression and suppression" in the Union Territory and understanding that a dissenting voice is not a criminal act. "Give the people right to breathe and rest will follow later," the former chief minister said, as she termed the Prime Minister's meeting with a 14-member delegation from Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday as a way forward to end "sufferings" of people in the erstwhile state. Ms Mufti, who was part of the delegation, made it clear that the onus was on the centre to make the dialogue process credible, and said it should initiate confidence building measures and allow "people to breathe" and also ensure protection of jobs and land for the people. "When I say allow people to breathe, I mean that today any dissenting note from any side has to cool his or her heels in the prison. Recently, a man was jailed for expressing his sentiments that he had lots of hope from a Kashmiri advisor. The concerned Deputy Commissioner ensured that he was in jail for a few days despite being granted bail by the court," Ms Mufti told PTI in an interview here.