Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (JKNC) Member of Parliament from Anantnag (Retd) Justice Hasnain Masoodi has said that the road to development in Jammu and Kashmir runs through peace.

He said that the idea of development is farfetched in uncertainty and deep despondency.
While speaking on the Budget 2021-22 in the Lok Sabha, Masoodi stated the two are inextricably linked.
He said the GOI’s policy towards Jammu and Kashmir must encapsulate all dimensions with peace building efforts at the heart of it. He said unless a positive environment wasn’t actualized by addressing the political aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, achieving anticipated development goals was unlikely.
“The government has misread eerie calm in Jammu and Kashmir as peace, the silence after the abrogation of Articles 370, 35-A is no indicator of peace. The ruling dispensation at New Delhi is under false impression that they have silenced Kashmir by the harshest clampdown post August 5th measures but that tantamount to living in denial,” he said.
He said that since the state was unilaterally dismembered and sheared of its unique status there has been spur in the violence related incidents. There is no thaw on the armed encounters in which nearly 400 people including 200 security forces officers have lost their lives. The prevalence of suicidal deaths of security forces has also seen a manifold increase.
He said that there is no semblance of peace and stability in Jammu and Kashmir. Furthermore for any development activity to take place, peace is the first universal prerequisite.
“Therefore, it is expected that the party that helms the central government works towards achieving peace in its real sense by addressing the political aspirations of the people,” he said.
Remarking on the Annual financial statement 2021-22, Masoodi said the budget is mute on various issues concerning the people.
He said the country has just come out of a pandemic situation and was still lurking towards achieving pre COVID-19 point but in wake of the dearth of substantial fiscal support from the GOI the projected objective seems farfetched.
He pointed towards various disturbing trends in the annual budget saying the increase in the expenditure using capital revenue was one of them.
“Here the government is not using the capital revenue to create new assets; the capital revenue is being used to pay for interest payments. Fiscal deficit being projected at 6.81 % is itself is very disappointing,” he added.