PDP president Mehbooba Mufti on Friday welcomed the train to Kashmir, terming the project a culmination of what so many governments worked on and capped by the government of Narendra Modi.

“We welcome the train. The work had been on for the past 40 years, ever since Indira Gandhi started the Jammu-Udhampur railway link in 1983. All governments have worked on this project, and Modi has completed it. It was very difficult, but he has done it, and people are happy with it,” Mufti said.Reacting to the prime minister’s address in Katra, the former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister said she was happy that Modi acknowledged the people’s categorical denunciation of terrorism in the aftermath of the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack.

“I am also happy that Modi has acknowledged the stand taken by the people of Kashmir against terrorism after the Pahalgam attack. He appreciated Adil Shah, who laid down his life while saving a tourist. This is who Kashiris are,” she said.

Nevertheless, Mufti questioned the Centre’s rationale behind large-scale detentions of youths in Kashmir since the Pahalgam attack.

She appealed to the government to release these youths who, she said, were arrested merely on suspicion or past association.

“It is my humble request to the government to review these arrests. When you admit that Kashmiris are peace-loving people, these people should be released on the eve of Eid. Those who do not have any serious charges against them or those who have been detained only on suspicion,” she said.