Mehbooba hails demonetisation, seeks reaching out to Kashmiris

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Monday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi here and discussed ways to reach out to the people of the unrest-hit Kashmir Valley where the situation "was gradually improving".

During the meeting she congratulated Modi for demonetisation and hailed as "historic" the move to spike Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes.

"Since the last one month, situation in the valley has been gradually improving. Overall, the situation there is now good.

"In the last three-four months, the development work has stopped, a lot of losses have been suffered by the people there. We discussed how to compensate their losses. We discussed how we can apply balm to the wounds suffered by the people during these difficult times.

"We discussed how to take forward the already improving situation," Mehbooba Mufti, who heads the Peoples Democratic Party, which rules the state in alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party, told media persons after the meeting.

Kashmir has been under a clampdown for nearly five months since July 9, a day after Hizbul commander, Burhan Wani was killed in a gunfight with the security forces.

About demonetisation, she admitted about the inconveniences faced by the masses but asserted it was a historic decision.

"This not an ordinary decision. Obviously common people will have to face trouble for a few days. Whenever such big drastic decisions are taken, some inconvenience will be caused. But I feel this decision is historic," she said.

She also urged people of the country to visit Kashmir.

--IANS

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