Sajjad Lone’s Wife leaves him red-faced over Kashmir unrest

Srinagar: After Finance Minister Dr Haseeb Drabu’s wife Roohi Nazki, it’s his Cabinet colleague Sajjad Gani Lone’s wife Asma Gani Lone having left her husband red-faced by openly criticizing the government over Kashmir unrest.

The prevalent uprising in Kashmir is spontaneous and widespread against New Delhi’s rule, Asma said, puncturing claims of her husband Sajjad.

 “The present uprising has completely different dynamics. The scope and scale is far more intense and widespread extending to hitherto unaffected areas and populations. It is mostly spontaneous and led by groups of dauntless local youngsters, even if the militant footprint is on the rise,” Asma said in her write-up for a Middle East based magazine.

“Most importantly, distinct from previous episodes, the present uprising is not issue-based—set against the ‘grievance’ of human rights violations as was the case in 2008 and 2010—but sentiment-based, placed within the greater ‘aspiration’ for azaadi (self-determination),” said Asma, daughter of the co-founder of Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front, Aman Ullah Khan.

This in contrast to her husband Sajjad’s assertions, which even Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti has been religiously upholding, taking his theory as almost a gospel truth.

Sajjad was the first to coin the theory at a TV interview that only 5% people participate in the uprising whereas 95% people were staying indoors.

While Asma has left her husband in tight-spot, a similar situation erupted in July this year when Roohi Nazki took the government head on over humanitarian crises in the Valley.

In the Facebook post, Dr Haseeb Drabu's wife, a former Tata executive, said: "It is immoral, unethical, tragic and wrong. Whatever has been happening in Kashmir over the last 14 days is terribly wrong. The brutal killings of children, the criminal blinding and maiming of protesters, and the shameless suffocating of an entire population is wrong. It is wrong even if it has been happening over the last two decades or so. It is wrong even if there are 'far too many agencies at work trying to keep Kashmir burning'. It is wrong no matter what excuse we are fed, day in and day out. It is wrong irrespective of who feeds us the excuses."

Roohi, who returned to Srinagar to start Chai Jaai on the banks of Jhelum, had observed that it was shameful on the part of Mehbooba’s government to victimize people.  "And it is wrong in the most fundamental, most shameful and the most damning way. For it is the children of Kashmir that are being killed on street corners, by the security forces of our country. Who pump pellets into their young bodies. It is in a democratic nation that a whole population is taken hostage for days on end, without basic amenities, without phones, without newspapers. And it is happening under the watch of a popularly elected government. Yet again!" Roohi posted on the social media.

While government reaction to Asma’s write-up is not known yet, Roohi’s post had outraged Mehbooba.

The Chief Minister had taken serious note of her remarks.

As already reported by Kashmir Observer, Mehbooba was anguished over Rohi’s “irresponsible behavior” .

As per sources Mehbooba was told by her party colleagues that Roohi reacted “irresponsibly and forgot the favors bestowed upon her and her entire family by the PDP.”

Drabu subsequently remained missing from spotlight. Interestingly this time, Sajjad has been sharing good chemistry with the PDP-led government, at least since August 15 when Mehbooba publicly praised him in her Independence Day address.

Political pundits  are eagerly waiting to  see Mehbooba’s reaction to Asma’s analysis.

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