India asks Pakistan to stop inciting and supporting violence against it

“India demands that Pakistan must fulfil the obligation to vacate its illegal occupation of PoK”, said Swarup.

Local newspapers in Kashmir Valley were on Thursday back on the stands after five days, a day after Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti met editors and owners of city-based newspapers and expressed regret over restrictions on the media. “Every day they are fighting against it”, Rajnath said while hitting out at Pakistan.

Protests in Pakistan and other events on the occasion of what it described as Black Day on Kashmir were led and supported by not just the likes of Lashkar-e-Taiba chief Hafiz Saeed and Syed Salahuddin but also Jaish-e-Muhammed chief Masood Azhar, an accused in the recent Pathankot airbase attack case. “He was tech-savy and was instigating the youth to take up arms on social media”, the home minister said.

Since 1989, more than 94,000 Kashmiris have been killed, out of which over 7000 were custodial killings at the hands of Indian occupation forces.

The editorial also questioned the use of pellet guns and called them and AFSPA “unworthy of India’s democracy”.

“We seek guidance from you all as the parties here have worked in Kashmir for decades”, added.

“To improve the condition in Kashmir, everybody needs to work together”. Everyone needs to partake in the responsibility of making the situation better.

He said, “The neighbouring country instead of fixing its internal matters, is trying to destabilize India”.

“I have never said there should be plebiscite”. A fact finding mission should be constituted to review the situation in Kashmir.

Following the police action, a meeting of Kashmir-based newspaper editors, printers and publishers was held on Saturday where they chose to stop their publications until the government owned up to the clampdown and apologised.

Responding to Opposition criticism that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was “beating drums” in Africa when Kashmir was burning, Mr. Singh said Mr. Modi had been in constant touch with him during the tour, enquiring about the situation and giving suggestions. He rejected Indian allegations that Pakistan was stirring trouble in the valley. “It will give report in two months”, he said. Regretfully Pakistan past year failed to be re-elected to the UNHRC. They see everything from the rear mirror.

AP adds: State government spokesman and Education Minister Nayeem Akhtar had said July 15 the ban was aimed at “saving lives and strengthening peace efforts”.

The resolution moved by Leader of the House Raja Zafarul Haq expressed solidarity with the Kashmiri people over the recent wave of atrocities unleashed by the Indian troops in the held Valley. However, the Omar Abdullah-led National Conference has made a decision to boycott the meeting.

However, the National Conference will not attend the meeting as it feels the meeting would prove to be “meaningless” unless a credible, effective and humane leadership is re-established in the state.

Yesterday, Pakistan had observed black day in protest against the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen militant commander Burhan Wani at the hands of security forces and subsequent deaths of civilian protesters in Kashmir.