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A day ahead of its talks with the Congress, the People's Democratic Party on Thursday made all the right noises and softened its position on the much-vilified Special Task Force of the Jammu and Kashmir police.
At a rally in Anantnag, PDP chief Mufti Mohammed Sayeed said his party was against disbanding the STF. "We will try to weed out some people with vested interests within the STF and make it more responsive," he said.
Besides the chief minister's post, disbanding of the STF was an issue that figured in a major way in the talks between the Congress and PDP.
"The people of Jammu and Kashmir have voted for opposition parties and given a fractured verdict in which a coalition government becomes inevitable. I want the wishes of the people to be respected, as the voice of the people is the voice of God," he said.
He displayed a copy of the party's manifesto and said all issues in it were discussed with the Congress.
He also lauded the Congress for not implementing the Prevention of Terrorism Act in the states in which it was in power.
Sayeed, along with his daughter Mehbooba, left the rally without meeting the journalists who had descended there.
Addressing the rally, Mehbooba, who began her political career from this district, said, "The PDP is not running after the chair, but the chair is running after us."
"I ask the people of the state to have patience, as it will pay in the long run," she said.
Father and daughter reiterated their pledge of providing rehabilitation to all those families whose bread earner had turned towards militancy.
Sayeed introduced to the public 15 of the 16 legislators of the PDP. Party vice-president Muzaffar Hussain Beig was not present, as he was indisposed.
PTI
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