Rajnath Singh’s visit to IOK termed futile exercise

He pledged to find an alternative to pellet guns, and reach out to the young people of Kashmir, promising them security and safety anywhere in India. “We have sacrificed lakhs of lives and will sacrifice everything to safeguard our religious identity and our dignity as we know that it is not safe with India”, she said.

As the unrest in Kashmir entered the 48th day, Singh also declared that India’s future was linked with Kashmir’s future. Sources said the preliminary enquiry begun by NIA last week into 22 bank accounts of individuals and firms based in south Kashmir has found suspicious money transfers.

He said leaders of all political parties will soon visit here for talks on finding ways to break the logjam in the valley. “I have asked the state government to make all preparations for that”.

Earlier, Rajnath Singh said the government was ready to talk to anybody, raising hopes in Kashmir of possible negotiations with the separatist Hurriyat Conference that has two factions and claims to represent the all sections in the Valley.

Notably, he didn’t name Pakistan for stoking trouble in the valley and didn’t repeat that talks over Kashmir will only be held under the realm of the Constitution of India – unlike previously.

She said that people came out on the roads after the July 8 killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani even though the government had imposed a strict curfew. I have saved them from the wrath of the security forces.

When Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti was asked to justify the Kashmir killings in the ongoing bloody unrest, she angrily walked out of the press conference she jointly addressed with Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday. Addressing a news conference at her residence in Srinagar on Thursday, along with Union home minister Rajnath Singh, Mufti said the current violence was different from the protests in 2010. In 2010 there was a fake encounter in Machil where three civilians were killed.

When other reporters wanted to chip in with supplementary questions and clarification, she shouted back ‘let me complete first and continued ‘ this time an encounter took place in which three militants were killed, how is government responsible for that. She said that these visits were only deceptive tactics to make the worldwide community believe that government of India was concerned about the situation in the territory. “The children didn’t go to the army camp to buy milk or toffees”, said Mehbooba, CM Mufti, whose Peoples Democratic Party is in an alliance with the BJP. Was the 15-year-old boy, who attacked the police station at Damhal Hanjipora (in south Kashmir), going there to get milk. She had demanded the youth of Kashmir to abstain from becoming the target of propaganda being supported from across the border.