PM Modi consults parties on Kashmir; separatists cold

Blaming Pakistan for fueling unrest in the Valley and terrorist activities, he said from now on, India will also highlight to the world the plight of the people of PoK. CPI (M) leader Sitaram Yechury said it was better late than never that the Prime Minister had called the all-party meeting on Kashmir situation, the sources said.

“Unless there is an acknowledgement among all political parties in India that Kashmir is a dispute and not an internal issue and has to be addressed accordingly, there is very little chance of the situation improving or real peace returning”, said faction chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq.

PDP, which is in power in Jammu and Kashmir, today told the all-party meeting here that the current unrest has a religious tinge which is different from the past such episodes.

“The root cause of unrest in Kashmir is cross-border terrorism which is being encouraged by our neighbouring country”, the right-wing Hindu nationalist premier said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday underlined human rights violations in Balochistan and Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir and blamed cross-border terrorism for the escalated violence in Jammu and Kashmir at an all-party meeting at the end of the monsoon session of Parliament.

Protesters gesture towards Indian police during a protest in Srinagar against the recent killings in Kashmir, August 12, 2016.Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, which is part of an uneasy coalition government in Jammu and Kashmir, has come under fire for failing to curb the deadly protests. “The Home Minister was in Kashmir for two days”.

“I have complete confidence that with the dedication of the State Government and with your total cooperation we will soon restore normal life in Jammu & Kashmir again”, he said as he praised Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti’s Government, in which BJP is a partner, for its “careful handling” of the issue despite odds.

“Whoever be killed, whether civilians or security forces, we all feel the pain”. But, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who was flanked by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley at a news conference, said before sending such a team, the state government has to undertake some ground work.

Invoking former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee again, he said his Government would follow the path shown by him, a reference to the former Prime Minister’s offer to hold dialogue under the framework of “insaniyat (humanity), jamhuriyat (democracy) and Kashmiriyat”.

Some opposition parties demanded that an All Party delegation be sent to Kashmir. Security forces have been asked to maintain utmost restraint in the State.