SRINAGAR: Bridging the “dil ki doori” (distance between hearts) between Delhi and Srinagar by freeing Kashmiri prisoners is as crucial to establishing a connection as opening the Valley’s first rail link with the rest of the country, J&K’s chief cleric and separatist Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said Friday after PM Narendra Modi flagged off the inaugural Vande Bharat Express train from Katra station.“If the PM truly seeks to close the gap, as he often mentions in his speeches, then humanitarian steps are the real way forward. Train links are welcome, but it is the human links that matter and endure,” Mirwaiz told an Eid-ul-Adha congregation at the Jamia Masjid in Srinagar.He said the festival doesn’t bring any joy to thousands of families in J&K whose sons, husbands, fathers and brothers had been incarcerated for years, many allegedly without a trial, in jails within and outside J&K.“With each passing day, more of our youth are detained,” he said. “All such prisoners, including politicians, remain in the prayers and thoughts of the people of Kashmir.”PDP chief and ex-CM Mehbooba Mufti said now that J&K’s long-awaited rail link had become a reality, it was time for PM Modi to “show statesmanship and compassion, especially towards those languishing in jails across India without serious charges”.Mehbooba urged him to consider releasing Kashmiri youth “jailed on mere suspicion” after the April 22 terrorist attack on tourists in Pahalgam. “The collective condemnation of the incident by people across the political spectrum reflects our shared rejection of violence…Let this Eid be a moment of healing and reconciliation,” she said.
