India’s so-called development projects in IIOJK threatening Kashmiris’ livelihoods: Mehbooba Mufti
Srinagar: People’s Democratic Party (PDP) President Mehbooba Mufti has strongly criticized the New Delhi-appointed administration in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, saying that it is systematically depriving ordinary Kashmiris of their livelihoods under the pretext of so-called development.
According to Kashmir Media Service, speaking to journalists in south Kashmir’s Bijbehara, Mehbooba Mufti said large infrastructure projects such as railways, roads, and other mega schemes have severely threatened the livelihoods of people in the districts of Pulwama, Shopian, and Islamabad. She lamented that the National Conference–led government has maintained complete silence on the issue.
She warned that under the guise of railway and road projects, the IIOJK administration is forcibly acquiring fertile lands and orchards from Kashmiris, putting the future of hundreds of families at stake. Questioning the fate of families affected by these actions, she asked what would happen to those whose orchards and lands are being taken, particularly as the administration has yet to provide any concrete plan for alternative employment.
Mehbooba Mufti urged New Delhi to provide jobs to the youth of the families whose lands were being taken. Otherwise, she stressed, rendering people jobless in the name of development is entirely unacceptable.
