Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti with finance minister Haseeb Drabu. (TOI Photo)

NEW DELHI: Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti on Monday sacked senior Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader and state finance minister Haseeb Drabu , days after he remarked that the situation in the state shouldn't be seen as a political problem .

The chief minister has sent a letter to Governor NN Vohra informing him that she had decided to remove Drabu, reported IANS.

"Jammu and Kashmir shouldn't be seen as a conflict state or a political problem, but as a society with social issues," Drabu had said at an event in New Delhi on Friday.

Drabu then asked people to "introspect" over the nature and origins of the situation in the state and how it could be resolved.

"We are trying to find our own space and we are going through a process which many other countries are also going through," the minister had said.

"It (J&K) is not a political issue as far as I can see. They have been barking up the wrong tree for the last 50 or 70 years by talking about the politics of it, that the political situation has never improved. We seriously need to look at in terms of how it is a society that is in search for itself."

Drabu's remarks had come under fire from both mainstream and separatist leaders.

Mirwaiz Umer Farooq-led Hurriyat Conference put out a statement, saying, "Such falsehood is part of the propaganda being deliberately built to mislead and misdirect audiences in order to dilute the reality of the Kashmir dispute and weaken the discourse on Kashmir".

Drabu's own party's disciplinary committee sent him a letter saying: "Your statement has the potential of creating a serious dent to the image and credibility of the party. Therefore you are advised to explain as to why statement detrimental to the party interests was made."

After news of the minister's sacking broke, former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah said it would be "interesting to see who replaces him in the Finance Ministry."

(With inputs from agencies)



In Video: Mehbooba Mufti sacks J&K minister Haseeb Drabu over controversial remarks