PDP president Mehbooba Mufti declared on the floor of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly on Wednesday that the “sentiment” of freedom can’t be suppressed by force, and that “separatism is a thought” that MLAs should not shy away from discussing.

“In Kashmir, you can’t suppress the separatist feeling,” Mehbooba told the House. “This (separatist) sentiment cannot die. Separatism is a thought. We should discuss it and try to address it. We shouldn’t shy away from it.”

“These mistakes” (like not discussing separatism) have been repeated since 1947, and the Kashmir issue has never been addressed politically, Mehbooba said. “The people will continue to raise ‘Hum Kya Chahte: Azadi’ (What do we want: Freedom) slogans till we provide them with a substitute.”

The PDP, Mehbooba said, had suggested a Self Rule formula for Kashmir “which is within the Constitution of India” and “does not affect the sovereignty of India or Pakistan”, but the proposal for a discussion in the Assembly had not been accepted. The Self Rule formula, Mehbooba said, was born out of PDP patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s 50-year experience in Kashmir. “The Prime Minister once talked of joint management, but when we say the same, we are branded separatists.”

Mehbooba said both Islamabad and New Delhi fear that a Joint Council will boost separatism. “Let them make its members those whom they trust,” she said.

The Leader of the Opposition said she knows the government will not reduce troops in the state “because everybody has a vested interest in it”. “If we start a movement for it, you will say we are separatists. We have to start withdrawal of forces from several areas and revoke AFSPA. We should have complemented peoples’ participation in the elections.”

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