Mufti makes fervent plea for investment in J&K

The Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed appealed to the business community in Mumbai to invest in the troubled state, during his two-day visit to Mumbai that began on Monday.

He said that investors should keep in mind that they would be investing in the peace and prosperity of the nation.

The Mufti was addressing the business community a meeting organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry.

"I have to lead Jammu & Kashmir out of the trap of militancy. It is trapped in quicksand. And, therefore, I appeal to all present here to invest in the state, as this will help promote peace and prosperity of India."

The chief minister of Jammu & Kashmir, who is visiting the financial capital of the country, was running behind schedule as his flight was delayed by over two hours due to a thick fog in New Delhi. Thus, the interactive session with the business community, that was planned earlier, could not take place.

The Mufti is also likely to meet Reserve Bank of India Governor Bimal Jalan, and Housing Development Finance Corporation Chairman Deepak Parekh during his stay in Mumbai.

He will also host a dinner for business big guns like the Ambani brothers, bosses of the Reliance Group; Kumar Mangalam Birla, chairman of the Birla group; and other high profile CEOs.

On Tuesday afternoon, he will meet the representatives of the travel and tourism industry. He is also scheduled to host a dinner for film personalities, where he is likely to woo the film industry to make use of the beautiful locales of Kashmir to shoot films in.

"There is a huge scope for the information & technology sector in Jammu & Kashmir, too. We have good software parks, and I would be grateful if corporates take the opportunity to invest in the state. For us, everyday and every hour count because the enemy within and outside the country wants to derail the peace process. We have to ensure that we accelerate the peace process to bring complete normalcy to the state," added Sayeed.

He appealed to Mumbaikars to come and visit the state as tourists in large numbers.

This, he said, will result in a visible and positive change for the state and it will make other people confident about visiting Kashmir too. He believed that soon the negative mindset about the state and the fear would give way to a boom in tourist activity in the beautiful state.

"We have made Gulmarg and Pahalgam safe tourist spots. Anyone can visit these lovely places in total peace. Corporates, too, can hold conferences there," he said.

Interestingly, in his 30-minute speech, there was little that the Mufti spoke about in terms of specific projects or investment opportunities in the state.

He did not come with a laptop or a map of the state to show the areas that he considered suitable for investment. He chose to speak extempore and dwelt on the peace initiatives that his government had embarked upon.

"Let us forget the past. I tell this to everyone. Some people have vested interest in militancy, as there is no accountability there. Our job is to win the hearts of people and see that we deliver on the socio-economic front," he said.

"I am coming to Mumbai after five years and this is my first visit as the chief minister of my state. We all have made mistakes in the past, but now it is time to rectify those. We are overwhelmed with guilt and want Jammu & Kashmir to return to normalcy and become the crown of India again," he said.

"Unemployment, after the security problem, is the biggest challenge for the state. We have to resolve this issue; so let us begin somewhere," he added emotionally.

Earlier, M S Pandit, finance commissioner of the Jammu & Kashmir government, said: "September 11 proved that no place in world can be safe. I will, thus, say that J&K is as safe as New Delhi or Mumbai."

"J&K produces 60 per cent of the apples in the country. It has good bandwidth for the IT industry. There is tremendous opportunity in business for the biotech and services sector. And, in my opinion, the best service that people can do is to spread -- by word of mouth -- the word that J&K is normal," said Pandit.

G A Mir, the state's tourism minister, said: "Veerappan has not been caught by the Karnataka government, but nobody says that the situation in Karnataka is bad. In the same way, when an incident or two of violence take place in J&K, people should not say that the overall situation in state is bad."