Senior Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar who recently visited valley and  met the Hurriyat leaders,  asserted that it was conveyed to him that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s message that ‘terror and tourism cannot go together’ has ruined tourism industries in Jammu and Kashmir, media reports said.

“The tour operators of the Valley were present in the meeting with the Hurriyat leaders and they told me that Modi’s message that terror and tourism cannot go together has ruined tourism industries in this valley this year. He has inflicted untold harm by going around proclaiming that the valley has nothing to offer but terror.” Aiyar told a media gathering.

The  five-member delegation led by Aiyar had yesterday called on moderate Hurriyat chief Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and the  discussed the prevailing situation in the Valley and the necessary steps to be initiated for bringing peace in Kashmir, which has been marred by violent protests since July 2016.

Congress leader further said that now he was more convinced that the situation in the Valley is extremely grave and that corrective actions need to be taken sooner than later, otherwise much bigger problems will surface.

Aiyar insisted that the Central Government should hold dialogue with all the stakeholders in Kashmir as it would bring enduring solutions by bringing peace in the Valley as well as reduce tensions between India and Pakistan.

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