J&K making rapid strides on path of peace and prosperity: L-G Manoj Sinha

Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Wednesday said the Union Territory has been making rapid strides on the path of peace and prosperity under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, achieving all-inclusive growth and social justice, since the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019.

While delivering a special lecture on “Jammu and Kashmir Towards Peace” at Gandhi Smriti, at an event presided over by former Union Minister and Gandhi Smriti vice-chairman Vijay Goel, the Lieutenant-Governor said over the past five years, Jammu and Kashmir’s economy had more than doubled.

Mr. Sinha said under the Prime Minister’s visionary leadership, the region was now connected to other parts of the country through railways. There was a massive increase in the influx of tourists with more than 5,000 new hotels constructed over the past four years in Kashmir valley itself. Several infrastructure projects were being implemented and many social welfare programmes launched.

A key indicator of development was the ₹1,700-crore profit booked by J&K Bank, which had previously suffered a loss of about ₹1,300 crore. Taking advantage of the incentives being provided by the government, a large number of startups were now coming up. Several premier educational institutions had been set up for the local youth, which was committed to peace, prosperity, unity, and communal harmony in the region.

Mr. Sinha said there was a fair and peaceful conduct of Assembly elections in J&K. “No political party raised any doubt about the election process,” he said, adding that the Panchayati Raj system had also been implemented across the UT successfully.

The Lieutenant Governor said after the abrogation of Article 370, no stone pelting incident was reported in the past few years. While earlier, terror outfits would radicalise and recruit an average of about 150 local youth per year, only six such instances were reported last year, and just one so far this year, which was a testimony to the fact that J&K residents were pro-development, he said.

Terming the Pahalgam terror attack a conspiracy by Pakistan to trigger communal unrest and once again destabilise J&K, he said there was a spontaneous protest by the locals against the killings.

Mr. Sinha said Operation Sindoor displayed the capability of the armed forces to deliver a befitting response to the Pakistan-sponsored terrorism, and that too using indigenous defence systems. “Since Partition, terrorism has been the State policy of Pakistan,” he said, adding that the international community should work together to eliminate breeding grounds of terrorism.