Go to school, pursue careers: Mehbooba to child stone pelters

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Tuesday appealed to students to refrain from stone pelting, and said if they keep indulging in such activities, the state will have no doctors, engineers and teachers in the future.

"Children have to go to schools, study and come out as doctors, dental surgeons, engineers, teachers".

"But if they (students) throw stones in protest rallies, we will have no doctors, engineers and teachers in future," Mehbooba said at an event in Jammu.

The chief minister said education is a necessity for the development and growth of the country.

"It was Mufti Mohammad Sayeed sahib, who always said that if you want to build a strong community, you will have to nourish it with education and strengthen their power to think."

"Education is a multi-dimensional development of self and the society. I am very happy that Jammu and Kashmir is moving forward in its journey of educational sector," she said.

Quoting an Arabic verse, Mehbooba said "as the holy month of Ramzan is very important for the Muslim world, so is it important for boys and girls to get education.

"It was my Kashmiri Pandit friends, who used to swear in the name of education (vidhya), instead of family members, Gods and Goddesses. It was this tradition that was prevalent in the Valley of Kashmir," she said.

She said the government is taking steps to create skilled and technical manpower in the state.

Photograph: ANI/Twitter