On Independence Day, Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti addressing people in Srinagar
Invoking her father Mufti Mohammad Sayeed's message of peace on Independence Day, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti reiterated that it is dialogue and not guns that can help the people of Kashmir.
Ms Mufti, who unfurled the National flag and addressed the people from Srinagar's Bakshi Stadium, blamed the political leadership for the current problems and expressed hope that the Narendra Modi government will follow former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's vision of "Kashmiriyat, Insaniyaat (humanity) and Jamooriyat (democracy)."
"Mufti saab (Mufti Mohammad Sayeed) always used to say, people of Jammu and Kashmir are not bad, they are not at fault. Neither is our country India bad. In one way or the other, the mistakes have been on part of the state's leadership - which he considered himself a part of as well - and the leadership of our country - from the time of Jawaharlal Nehru to today. The political parties that have been there, the fault is theirs," she said.
Urging people to denounce violence in the Valley, Ms Mufti said, "If we can't find our solution in the world's biggest democracy, we won't find it anywhere else.... We hope that the effort that was incomplete in Atal Bihari Vajpayee's time would now be completed under PM Narendra Modi."
The opposition National Conference and the Congress had apparently boycotted the function.
The function at the Bakshi Stadium started as an encounter with terrorists was on at Nowhatta, a downtown area just 7 km away. The terrorists had managed to strike despite the curfew and the additional security that was put in place ahead of the Independence Day. Nine security personnel were injured and an officer was killed in the encounter.
In the morning, security forces had foiled an attempt by terrorists to infiltrate into India at Uri, about 70 km from Srinagar. Two terrorists were killed.
Many parts of Srinagar, including the Nowhatta area, have been under curfew since security forces shot dead a Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Burhan Wani on July 8. More than 50 people have died and over 5,000 have been injured in clashes between protesters and security forces since.