J&K CM Mehbooba Mufti terms PM Modi as only hope for resolution of Kashmir dispute

Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday said that PM Narendra Modi is Kashmir's only hope to resolve the dispute once and for all. 

Speaking at the inauguration of a much-awaited flyover in Jammu, the chief minister said, "If anyone can take us out of this quagmire then it is Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He has the mandate. Whatever he will decide the nation will support him."

"The previous prime minister also wanted to visit Pakistan, but could not. PM Modi's visit to Lahore is proof of his abilities," Mufti added. 

J&K CM said that her father Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee also tried to resolve the Kashmir situation but since then no efforts were made by subsequent governments. "Now after 2008, for the first time, people have started expressing passion in the matter," CM said. 

Reacting to the statement of Congress leader GS Charak on a lack of development in Jammu, the chief minister said that a tense situation in Kashmir also affects Jammu as well. 

"Jammu has many tourist destinations and we are trying to develop them," Mufti added.