Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir government’s spokesperson Naeem Akthar “fear(s)” that during the present political situation in the State, no “democratic experiment will be possible” for a long time to come, The Telegraph reported Saturday.

Akthar was euphemistically referring to elections as “democratic experiment”, the report said.

“Asked if he meant elections would become impossible to hold in the Valley, Akhtar grimly nodded. He probably had at the back of his head the by-election to the Anantnag Lok Sabha seat, which had to be scrapped last May for fear of violence and remains in abeyance,” the report added.

Eight civilians were killed by government forces on 9 April during the by-election to the Anantnag Lok Sabha seat, which recorded a poor voter turnout of 7.14%.

The Government of India kept deferring the said polls which have remained in abeyance since then.

“My fears and foreboding are worse, and they are not for Kashmir alone but for the whole country. There is a radicalisation happening all around us, it is also happening among minorities in the heartland. If this alienation is allowed to fester, Kashmir might become a bunker for them to fight from. There have been a couple of cases… boys from Assam and Hyderabad have come. We are in a very dangerous space. I mean this as a note of caution,” Akthar was quoted by the report as saying.

Akthar said that it is PM Narendra Modi needs to talk to Kashmiri people or face “irretrievable consequences”.

“[Modi is] the only man who can change the Kashmiri ecosystem… The situation is dangerous and it is out of our hands; it is only New Delhi that can do something about Kashmir, perhaps only the Prime Minister who can do something. It is not in our hands but Modi can still do it,” Akthar said.

Recently, State’s Tourism Minister Tassaduq Mufti said that PDP and BJP are “partners in crime,” who “are no longer trusted”.