New Delhi: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Monday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the worsening law and order situation in the Valley where unrest has put the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and People’s Democratic Party (PDP) alliance under strain.

“[The prime minister and I] agreed that talks cannot be held until incidents of stone-pelting and retaliation by security forces are stopped. We held discussions on various issues including the agenda of alliance between the PDP-BJP, the recent violence during elections and the volatile security situation in Jammu and Kashmir,” Mehbooba told media after the meeting at PM’s New Delhi residence.

Mehbooba said the approach of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee was urgently needed to save Kashmir.

“There was dialogue when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the prime minister and LK Advani his deputy. They even held dialogue with separatist forces such as Hurriyat Conference and others. We must start from where Vajpayee left,” she stated.

Mehbooba said Vajpayee’s policy was of reconciliation, not confrontation.

“Something happened while Atal Bihari Vajpayee was there. That is the reason, the people of Kashmir still remember him. Due to this policy, there is an alliance between BJP and PDP in Jammu and Kashmir,” the chief minister said.

She said Modi has vowed to work on the lines of Vajpayee.

Genuine grievances

Modi favours talks, but before that a conducive atmosphere needs to be created, she said. “Everything is possible if atmosphere is conducive and there is no way forward without talks,” she added.

Mehbooba also urged Modi to compensate people of the state for the losses they had suffered due to the Indus Waters Treaty between India and Pakistan.

When asked about the stone pelters, she said the youth in the state was systematically incited by separatists.

“Those young men have genuine grievances, which we must address. We need a dialogue. We can’t be confronting our own people for too long. We cannot hold talks when on one side stones are being thrown and bullets fired from the other side,” she said.

Mehbooba expressed confidence over finding a solution to the worst ever law and order situation in Kashmir.

“We have a Unified Command meeting tomorrow. There are two-three kinds of people who are involved in stone pelting. Some are disillusioned and some are incited. We will find a line of action,” she said.

Road map

She said her father, late chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed had given a road map for lasting peace in the state.

Ahead of her meeting with the prime minister, Mehbooba also met Home Minister Rajnath Singh, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and Intelligence Bureau officials.

Meanwhile, senior PDP leader and former deputy chief minister Muzaffar Hussain Baig said Mufti should “go back to the people instead of sticking to the alliance with BJP”.

“The PDP has been the loser in the coalition as it has lost more political capital than BJP. There is disenchantment, inexperience and lack of commitment in the present coalition government. Mehbooba has to take a hard view of it. If she doesn’t find the coalition functional, she should not stick to it. She should go back to the people and try earning their trust again,” he told media.

The PDP-BJP coalition has been blamed for failing to handle the situation in the Valley, which has gone from bad to worse. From October 2016 to March 2017, as many as 411 stone-pelting incidents have been reported in the Valley.