We will review those cases where students and first-timers are found to be involved: Mehbooba

"Kashmir has witnessed a very painful and frustrating situation over the past few months.Now as the situation is returning to normalcy, we have to prepare a roadmap to pull our people out of this agonizing and complicated situation and heal their wounds," Mehbooba said while chairing the meeting of top civil and police administration at the SKICC here.

Recounting the events of the past four months, the Chief Minister asked the civil and police administration to reach out to the families of those who died or suffered injuries in the ongoing situation and also devise a strategy so that their miseries could be lessened.

“We have to support the affected families whatever can we can,” she said.

"Those who died or suffered injuries are our own people. Reach out to their families. I should get the exact figures so that we can take a decision about their future. It will be good to involve elders and local Auqaf Committees in the process," she said.

Expressing concern over local youths joining militant groups, the Chief Minister said the civil and police administration should take steps to wean away such youths from the path of violence with compassion.

“Such misadvised youth must be given an opportunity to return to normal life and provided an honorable livelihood. Get in touch with their families and talk it out with them. We should seriously think about how and what kind of future they should have in a welfare society like ours where every citizen has equal rights," Mehbooba said.

She said the state government will review the cases filed over the past four months against those youths who have been participating in streets protests.

"We will review those cases where students and first-timers are found to be involved. We will talk to their parents and get their assurances that their wards will not participate in protests in future. We can't go on arresting people. There should be a different and empathetic plan of action to contain the situation," she said.

During the meeting, the chief minister was informed that the situation is slowly returning to normalcy with almost 90 percent drop in street protests during this month as compared with July.

"As if the casualty suffered by the process of development in Kashmir due to the ongoing situation was not enough, we now have people burning down schools. Such incidents will not only destroy the social fabric of our society but it will also impact the future of our children who are toiling hard to shine in every field, despite the odds," Mufti said.

(Reporting by Saleem Iqbal Qadri)