OPPOSITION IN INDIA'S KASHMIR SLAMS GOVERNMENT FOR NOT WITHDRAWING FALSE CASES AGAINST YOUNG BOYS

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SOURCE: ANI

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Opposition in India's Kashmir slams government for not withdrawing false cases against young boys.

Chief of provincial opposition in India's Kashmir, People's Democratic Party (PDP) Mehbooba Mufti lashes at the state chief Omar Abdullah and his government for not withdrawing the false cases that are filed against young school going boys.

PLEASE NOTE: THIS EDIT CONTAINS CONVERTED 4:3 MATERIAL

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JAMMU, JAMMU AND KASHMIR, INDIA (APRIL 02, 2012) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (ANI-NO ACCESS BBC)

1. (SOUNDBITE) (Urdu) CHIEF OF REGIONAL PEOPLE'S DEMOCRATIC PARTY (PDP) OF INDIA'S NORTHERN JAMMU AND KASHMIR STATE, MEHBOOBA MUFTI, SAYING: "The chief minister (chief of India's northern Jammu and Kashmir state, Omar Abdullah) announced that they would withdraw the FIR (First Information Report) that was filed against the young boys. The very next day in Srinagar, charge sheets were filed against 15 school going boys. They were produced before the Judicial Magistrate. So, we want that the government should speak the truth at least on few subjects. Today, the chief minister said that the proposed bills are on hold as the opposition is not supporting it."

2. MUFTI INTERACTING WITH MEDIAPERSONS

3. (SOUNDBITE) (Urdu) CHIEF OF REGIONAL PEOPLE'S DEMOCRATIC PARTY (PDP) OF INDIA'S NORTHERN JAMMU AND KASHMIR STATE, MEHBOOBA MUFTI, SAYING: "Millions of rupees were allocated for the beautification of the city and other projects, but they were not spent and it lapsed. So, I want to say that Kashmir assembly is losing its credibility gradually and fingers are being raised on the bank of Jammu and Kashmir because there is no transparency."

4. MUFTI INTERACTING WITH MEDIAPERSONS

STORY: Chief of provincial opposition in India's Kashmir, People's Democratic Party (PDP), Mehbooba Mufti accused state chief Omar Abdullah and his government for filing false cases against young school going boys.

She told reporters on Monday (April 02) in Jammu that Abdullah had assured that First Information Report (FIR) that was filed against the young boys would be withdrawn.

"The chief minister (chief of India's northern Jammu and Kashmir state, Omar Abdullah) announced that they would withdraw the FIR (First Information Report) that was filed against the young boys. The very next day in Srinagar, charge sheets were filed against 15 school going boys. They were produced before the Judicial Magistrate. So, we want that the government should speak the truth at least on few subjects. Today, the chief minister said that the proposed bills are on hold as the opposition is not supporting it," said Mufti.

In the past, tens of thousands of stone-pelting youths filled town squares across the valley. More than 110 people were killed when security forces fired at the demonstrators demanding freedom and much of the region was shut for weeks on end in strikes called by separatists.

Like many developing societies around the globe, Kashmir is experiencing a "youth bulge", where 71 percent of the population is under the age of 35. Of the large cohort of youth between the ages of 18 to 30 in the Kashmir Valley, an estimated 48 percent are currently unemployed.

Militant attacks, which first broke out in 1989, have declined considerably, but street protests have grown.

Mufti slammed the provincial government over its failure to utilise the money allocated for development.

"Millions of rupees were allocated for the beautification of the city and other projects, but they were not spent and it lapsed. So, I want to say that Kashmir assembly is losing its credibility gradually and fingers are being raised on the bank of Jammu and Kashmir because there is no transparency," she said.

The Himalayan region is well recognised for its picturesque beauty but over the years because of recurrent militant attacks, there was dip in the number of tourists who visited the state.

However, Abdullah in his recent address to the Assembly had said that militancy in the region has declined.

Kashmir is considered as one of the world's most militarised zones, with India deploying over 1.3 million troops to suppress the insurgency/

Separatist violence in Kashmir, which is claimed in full but ruled in part by India and Pakistan, has fallen to its lowest since an armed rebellion broke out in 1989. Nearly 50,000 people have been killed since then.