Peoples Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti on Tuesday stated that the Narendra Modi-led Union government should not be “politically penalised” for exploring peaceful means to resolve the conflict between India and Pakistan.

“I appeal [to] all the Opposition parties to resist the urge for knee-jerk criticism or political point-scoring,” Mufti said on social media. “Just as the Pahalgam incident united voices from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, there is need to build a national consensus around a peace process that safeguards national interests.”

Her statement came after India and Pakistan on Saturday reached an “understanding” to halt firing following a four-day conflict.

Tensions escalated into a conflict on May 7 when the Indian military launched strikes – codenamed Operation Sindoor – on what it claimed were terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

The strikes were in response to the Pahalgam attack on April 22, which killed 26 persons.

The Pakistan Army retaliated to the Indian strikes by repeatedly shelling Indian villages along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir. At least 22 Indian civilians and eight defence personnel were killed.

After the agreement to stop the conflict was announced, Opposition leaders such as Congress MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi had said that it was necessary to drive home the full advantage of any initiative, instead of leaving it half done. Singhvi said that he hoped India had “not frittered away those gains by any premature ceasefire”.

On Tuesday, Mufti said that in the current situation, the Opposition must “rise above politics and support genuine efforts for peace and stability”.

“Leaders like Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Dr Manmohan Singh proved that cross-border engagement is possible even in tense times without compromising security or sovereignty,” she said.

The Peoples Democratic Party chief added: “The Modi government should not be politically penalised for exploring peaceful means. This is a time for bipartisan statesmanship not division.”

She also asked persons criticising the ceasefire to spend time with the families on the borders to “understand the daily reality of death and destruction”.

Later on Tuesday, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah also said that only “the anchors of a few TV channels, who sit far away from here in Noida and Bombay, do not like the ceasefire”, reported PTI.

“We all want the ceasefire to remain intact,” the news agency quoted him as saying. “The people living near the borders or the Line of Control, and those who saw the situation in Jammu and Srinagar, they want a ceasefire. It is a good thing.”

Mufti and Abdullah had earlier called for de-escalation of tensions between India and Pakistan.

Before the agreement to halt firing was announced, Mufti said that India should “embrace its leadership role in the subcontinent and take the first step to de-escalate tensions”.

“India as the world’s largest democracy and now as an emerging power/the most populous nation with a rapidly growing economy must not rely on inconsistent international support,” she said.