Govt promised to replace stones with laptops, but Kashmiri youth pushed to become suicide bomber: Mehbooba

Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti on Sunday (November 16, 2025) said the Centre’s promise to replace stones with laptops for Kashmiri youth has fallen flat, as “youth are turning into suicide bombers due to the government policies”.

She referred to the case of Pulwama resident Umar Nabi, a medical doctor who allegedly blew up a vehicle in front of the Red Fort in New Delhi on November 11 and died in the explosion. ”The government promised to replace stones with laptops for Kashmiri youth. Instead, Kashmiri youth is pushed to become a suicide bomber. They promised to make Kashmir safe but even Delhi is unsafe now. It’s because of the policies pursued,” she said.

Ms. Mufti, while addressing party workers in Srinagar, urged Kashmiri youth to shun the path of “violence and destruction”. She said: “We don’t want Kashmiri youth to die but live to see a happy Kashmir again. It has unsettled me to see well-read Kashmiri doctors and engineers turning to violence. It’s dangerous for Kashmir as well as the country. The first fallout of such incidents is borne by Kashmir and its society only.”

‘Revisit Vajpayee’s Kashmir policy’

She urged the Centre to think again about its Kashmir policy. “Nationalists in India have to rethink. BJP leader and ex-Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had set a path and roadmap for Kashmir. Mr. Vajpayee was a nationalist. Instead of following Mr. Vajpayee, his roadmap was reversed in 2019 by the Centre,” Ms. Mufti said, urging Prime Minister Narendra Modi to revisit the Vajpayee approach to Kashmir.  

In 2019, when the Centre abrogated J&K’s special status, it was an attack on the dignity of the people of J&K, she said. “The people of Kashmir were betrayed after 70 years. The onslaught did not stop. After 2019, J&K was turned into an open prison. A journalist is summoned if he reports and a protester over the water crisis is threatened with the Public Safety Act and the UAPA [Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act],” Ms. Mufti said. 

‘Daily humiliation’

She also questioned the policy of blowing up the houses of terrorists. “I am told that Dr. Umar [Nabi]’s father is mentally unstable. His mother raised money with hardship for her son’s studies. You decided to blow up the house. What will this achieve?” she asked. 

Kashmir faces humiliation on a daily basis and is barred from speaking up, she said. “When people are choked, it will find a vent somewhere else,” Ms. Mufti said.

When BJP leaders say things like, ‘marry Muslim women and we will provide you a job’, that is perceived as an affront by Kashmir’s Gen Z youth, she warned. “How many Muslim shops and houses will be demolished? How many will be deported in the name of being Bangladeshis? What will you do with 25 crore Muslims of India?” Ms. Mufti asked.