Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Wednesday said that a large section of western media is responsible for spreading misinformation about the Union Territory.
“They [western media] talk about democracy, but their contribution in spreading this misinformation is greater than Pakistan,” Sinha said. He also ruled out holding diplomatic talks with Pakistan.
Sinha was speaking at the book launch of The two Kashmirs by Bharatiya Janata Party leader Sheikh Khalid Jehangir in Delhi.
“Some people keep trying [to ensure that] that nothing is set right in Kashmir until we engage with Pakistan,” the lieutenant governor said. “These are those people who have brought Kashmir to this stage. They are more dangerous than those directly associated with militancy. These are those people who feel that until a certain level of violence is maintained in the Valley, Delhi won’t value them.”
The politician pointed out that Kashmiris need to step out of the region for work opportunities. “There is peculiar social problem among Kashmiris,” Sinha said. “They don’t want to go outside Kashmir.”
He said that while visiting Tata Technology Centre in Baramulla, he had met 58 engineering graduates and post graduates but found only seven of them were employed.
“I was like what is the point of running a centre that can ensure jobs for only seven out of 58,” Sinha said. “He said students were not ready to go outside of Kashmir. Kashmir needs to come out of this mindset.”
Sinha also claimed that the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019 brought economic development to the Union Territory while the Pakistan Occupied Kashmir suffers from “extreme poverty.”
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