“It is high time that our government and policy makers got defensive if they want to fight terrorism,” said former J&K Governor Lt General S K Sinha at the annual conference of a private college held at the Government Arts and Museum Gallery on Sunday.

Sinha talked about his experiences in Kashmir and how efforts to change the mindset of people helped him control terrorism in that state. He talked about lack of support from government and how miscommunication and politics among the politicians is responsible for the slow growth of the state.

“No one can ensure when a Kashmiri Pandit can walk back to his state without fear of getting killed. The condition has really improved as compared to the past and the Army has been doing a wonderful job. If government becomes more assertive, I am sure terrorism can be completely taken care of in the state,” added he.

Quoting a survey, he said only three per cent of the people in Kashmir are below the poverty line.

His lecture was followed by a number of questions being asked by the audience. Most wanted to know as to when would conditions in Kashmir get better and if governor gets more power, would it help in restoring peace. To this Sinha answered that it was up to the politicians because if they took nation’s peace above party politics, restoring peace was not a difficult task.

“Granting more powers to governor means making changes in the Constitution and for that policy makers need to be assertive and the demand be genuine,” Sinha said.