Creating jobs for youth PDP's main economic goal: Mehbooba Mufti

Employment generation for youth of Jammu and Kashmir will be the main economic goal of of the People's Democratic Party (PDP) if it wins the 2014 assembly elections, party president Mehbooba Mufti said Friday.

Addressing a public meeting at Lam in Rajouri district of Jammu region, Mufti said the youth of Jammu and Kashmir can rewrite a new destiny for themselves and for the state if they are involved fully in the system and given due opportunities where they can excel and bring about a perceptible change on the ground.

"But, the youth of the state have been, unfortunately, pushed to the wall and denied space in the political, economic and social spheres over the last more than 60 years," she said.

"The reason for present uncertainty in J&K is also because of the fact that the youth have been denied a democratic space by the National Conference (NC), which devoured a generation of brilliant young people," she said, adding the PDP's vision to get the state out of this present mess and ensure a dignified political solution to the youth's problems forms the core of the party's agenda.

"We will carry forward our unfinished agenda of political resolution and economic empowerment of the people. The recruitment processes will be made transparent and the deserving, hardworking people will get their chance in our future scheme of things," she said.

PDP will establish environment friendly industries to generate dignified and meaningful employment chances for the youth, she added.

She said to provide modern educational facilities at the door step to students, the PDP during its stint in the government in the past established new universities, opened dozens of colleges, established skill enhancement and technical institutes in every nook and corner of the state.

Noting tourism, agriculture and horticulture are the areas of strength, she said these sectors offer huge employment avenues and the PDP will harness them to optimum to make the state self-reliant.

She said Rajouri and Poonch districts offer a huge potential for tourism and horticulture. It has so far remained untapped, but the PDP will go for robust, planned industrialization in the area, which would not be having any negative impact on the environment.