The Opposition National Conference has criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's reference to Balochistan in his Independence Day speech and termed the ensuing Balochistan narrative a tit-for-tat one-upmanship between India and Pakistan. A statement of the party termed the narrative as dangerous and primarily inimical to the prospects of peace and stability in the sub-continent in general and Kashmir in particular.
The NC's provincial president and former Home Minister Nasir Aslam Wani said the current narrative of hostility and acrimony between New Delhi and Islamabad was diametrically and dramatically opposite to what PDP had promised viz-a-viz a sustained dialogue between the two neighbours — a smoke-screen marketed as an alleged 'cornerstone' of its opportunistic and unholy alliance with the BJP.
"Today at a time when Kashmir is in dire need of a reconciliatory approach internally and a cooperative approach between India and Pakistan, New Delhi has turned the narrative into a tit-for-tat political point-scoring while the Valley continues to simmer with the fresh spate of killings. Both late Mufti Sahab and then Mehbooba Mufti had claimed their alliance with the BJP would become a reason for the BJP-led Central Government to engage in dialogue with Pakistan for the resolution of all outstanding issues, especially the issue of Kashmir. Ironically while PDP continues to be driven by the spoils of political power in the midst of mourning and grief in the Valley, New Delhi and Islamabad are drifting farther away from each other than they have at any point in the recent past", Wani said.