Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti on Friday called upon the people of Iran to remain united to defeat what she described as the “ploys” of the United States and Israel, while also appealing to the leadership of the Islamic Republic to address the grievances of protesters in the country.
Speaking to reporters, the former chief minister of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir said the US has a history of intervening in other countries with an eye on their natural resources.
“The US has a habit of saying that it wants to establish democracy in other countries by removing their leadership, which is totally wrong. Basically, the US always wants to intervene because it eyes their resources like fuel,” Mufti said.
She alleged that several Muslim countries have been “destroyed” in a similar manner under the pretext of human rights violations. “The biggest atrocities are being committed against the people in Gaza, but the US does not intervene there,” she said, adding that she was glad people in Jammu and Kashmir, especially in Kashmir, came out on the roads in support of Iran after Friday prayers.
Mufti urged the people of Iran to understand what she called the designs of the US and Israel. “The US and Israel are friends of no one. They are the biggest enemies of Muslims and only eye petrol and other resources in these countries,” she said, warning that if Iran falls into their “ploys”, its condition could become worse than that of Syria.
She said while people everywhere have grievances against their governments and those grievances should be addressed, the people of Iran must remain united. “They should stand together to defeat the US and Israel’s designs,” she added.
Referring to Iran’s relations with India, the PDP chief said demonstrations in support of the Islamic Republic should have taken place across the country as in earlier times. “Kashmir also has close relations with Iran, but since the BJP government came to power, the whole system in the country has changed and people are now afraid to protest,” she claimed.
On the plight of students from Jammu and Kashmir studying in Iran amid the prevailing situation, Mufti said she has requested External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar to arrange special flights to bring them back.
