"The Centre should realise that the Kashmir issue is a political one and not a manifestation of terrorism or a generic law-and-order problem," NC provincial president for Kashmir Nasir Aslam Wani said here.
"New Delhi should immediately engage in a sustainable and open-ended dialogue with Islamabad as well as the stakeholders in Kashmir, including the Hurriyat Conference leadership.
"The prolonged delay in reaching out to the people of Kashmir through a comprehensive political initiative is fraught with unimaginable risks," he warned.
He claimed that the Centre's "tried and tested" method of dealing with the Kashmir problem as a law-and-order issue had created a "sense of hopelessness and despair" in the Valley.
Also Read
Wani said the Centre's "failure" to express "basic
"Even after the Union Home Minister's visit to the Valley, nothing has changed on the ground. Despite the heart-rending fact that hundreds of kids have been blinded and handicapped for life by the use of pellet guns, the government has chosen to allow the use of these supposedly non-lethal weapons that have caused three deaths and countless injuries till date.
"The crackdown on mobile telecommunications and internet continues as an attempt to muzzle the voices of criticism. The visit has yielded absolutely nothing, there has been no introspection and re-think," he said.
"Evidently dismayed and disappointed by the brazen arrogance and ignorance demonstrated in handling Kashmir, both by the state and the Centre, the Governor has proceeded on leave, indicating at the gravity of the situation.
"The Chief Minister continues to either contradict herself with every passing day or distort the reality on the ground to survive on her chair. Her administration is completely and solely invested in fabricating a sense of normalcy rather than working towards actually facilitating it and that has called into question the basic writ of the state government," said Wani.