Encouraging youth to take up arms reflects Pak's 'hypocrisy': Mehbooba

Asserting that the relations between India and Pakistan were at its best during the regime of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Sunday said encouraging the youngsters to take up arms in Kashmir reflected 'hypocrisy' on the part of Islamabad.

Mehbooba, who met Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh here today, thanked the doctors and other personnel working round the clock to bring the situation in Jammu and Kashmir back to normal.

"Today India as well as Pakistan has an opportunity to talk and discuss. But they shouldn't tell their children that if you take up guns and die, we will salute you. I think this is hypocrisy. They torture those who take up guns and teach some other lesson to our children. I believe this is wrong and this shouldn't happen," she told ANI.

She said everybody take the problem of Jammu and Kashmir seriously only when the situation is bad.

"When the situation in Jammu and Kashmir is bad, we think about finding a solution. But when the situation becomes normal, we forget about it. This is the reason why Mufti ji took two months to form the government with the BJP. He created an agenda of alliance that this is the way if you have to take out Jammu and Kashmir from the problem," she said.

Expressing grief over loss of lives in Kashmir violence in the aftermath of terrorist Burhan Wani's killing, Mehbooba said the confident building measures must continue.

"It is unfortunately not for the first time that there is such an atmosphere here. Many civilians and police personnel have died. Confidence building measures started, but later it stopped. The best period was 2002 when Mufti Government was formed here and Vajpayee Government was formed in New Delhi," she said.

Authorities today lifted the ongoing curfew from four districts of Ganderbal, Badgam, Bandipora and Baramulla in the Kashmir Valley as the law and order situation showed marginal improvement.