By Muhammad Luqman
Following upsurge in violence in the Indian occupied Kashmir and parting of ways by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti has resigned from the office, according to Indian and Kashmiri media.
The fall of the government in Indian-controlled Kashmir has paved the way for direct rule from New Delhi.
The Hindu nationalist BJP had entered into an alliance with the regional party, People’s Democratic Party (PDP), after an inconclusive election in 2014 to govern the disputed territory.
“It has become untenable for the BJP to continue in the alliance government in occupied Kashmir,” Ram Madhav, party general secretary was quoted by media.
BJP quit the coalition following a rift over extension in the Ramazan ceasefire. Chief Minister of Indian Occupied Kashmir Mehbooba Mufti wanted the ceasefire to be extended, while the BJP decided against it.
The Indian government had suspended cordon and search operations during the holy month of Ramazan but resumed operations against the Kashmiri groups after Eidul Fitr.
Following BJP’s announcement, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti also announced her resignation at a press conference she addressed in Kashmir’s capital, Srinagar.
“I have resigned from chief ministership, shook hands with BJP for the sake of serving the people,” she said.
“It took us several months to form a mutual agenda with BJP,” Mufti said, maintaining that the Kashmir issue could only be resolved through talks. “The issue here cannot be resolved through the use of force.”
She also stressed the need for talks with Pakistan and the Kashmiri people for the resolution of the decades-long conflict.
Last week, a United Nations report had accused India of having used excessive force in Kashmir to kill and wound civilians since 2016. The United Nations also called for an international inquiry into accusations of rights violations.
According to analysts, following the fall of the Mehbooba Mufti government, direct rule by New Delhi in Kashmir would give the Hindu revivalist party, BJP a free hand to suppress the Kashmiris ahead general election.
More than 130 people have died in escalating violence in Kashmir this year. Last week, gunmen shot dead a Chief Editor of newspaper Rising Kashmir, Shujaat Bukhari in Srinagar, who had been a strong advocate of peace in the region.
