* All Party delegation to visit J&K soon
Fayaz Bukhari
Srinagar Aug 25: Union Home Minister, Rajnath Singh, today declared that there is no future of India without Kashmir and said that his Government is ready for dialogue with anyone. He said that alternative to pellet guns as non-lethal crowd control weapons will be given soon.
Addressing a joint press conference at the official residence of Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti at the end of his two days visit, Singh declared that there is no future for India without Kashmir. He invoked former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s policy of ‘Kashmiriyat, Insaniyat and Jamhooriyat’ to signal that the NDA Government is ready for dialogue with anyone. “We want to shape future of India. If future of Kashmir is not shaped, future of India cannot be shaped too,” he said.
Home Minister said young children and youth, who should have taken pen or laptops, have picked up stones to pelt on security forces. “Who are these people? Who has given them permission to take up stones? Can they guarantee to shape their (youths) future? We see future of Kashmiri children linked to the future of Indian children”, he said. “I appeal to Kashmiri people to identify those who are trying to create such a situation in the Valley. Without the future of Kashmir, the future of India cannot exist,” he said.
Singh said those misguided youths who are picking up stones should be counselled. “If some misguided youths are picking stones then such youths must be counselled. Children are children. We cannot think of separating the future of Kashmir with the future of India,” he said.
Home Minister said the Government has identified those elements who are trying to mislead some of our youth in Kashmir. He appealed to those people, who are misleading the youths in Kashmir, not to play with the future of children of the Valley.
Singh said an alternative to pellet guns will be proposed within a few days in the wake of widespread criticism of the crowd-control device. “An expert committee set up and mandated to look for an alternative to pellet guns is expected to give its report in two-three days”, he said.
“It is just one month and report of that committee will come within two-three days. Within few days, we will give an alternative to pellet guns. In 2010, it was said pellet gun is a non lethal weapon which can cause least damage but now we feel that there should be some alternate to this,” Home Minister said.
Singh said the security forces have been told to exercise maximum restraint while dealing with people. “Security personnel have been told to exercise restraint and they are exercising maximum restraint and also bearing the brunt of protesters and as a result 4,500 security personnel have been injured so far. I would also like to appeal to everyone not to forget the role of security personnel during the floods in Kashmir,” he said.
Home Minister said an all-party delegation will soon visit Jammu and Kashmir to interact with cross sections of people and the Chief Minister has been told to make arrangements for it.
Replying to a question on Central Government’s understanding of the prevailing situation in Kashmir, Singh said: “Do not question our understanding of the situation. We are trying to find a solution”.
Home Minister said the Central Government will soon appoint a Nodal Officer to help Kashmiris in distress living in other parts of the country.
Singh said more than 20 delegations and about 300 people met him during the two-day visit and all of them conveyed to him that they all want peace in Kashmir. “We are also sad over the situation in the Valley”, he said.
The Home Minister said whenever a Kashmiri youth or a security personnel is killed, the entire country suffers that pain. “Can we not pull out Kashmir from such situation? I would like to appeal every one, every brother and sister of Kashmir, to not play with the future of Kashmiri youth,” he said.
Prior to press conference, Home Minister met Mehbooba at her residence and discussed prevailing security situation in the State.
Chief Minister briefed the Union Home Minister in detail about the internal security situation and the political initiatives and confidence building measures required to be taken for the restoration of normalcy in the State.
Mehbooba called for reaching out to the larger majority in the State who want resolution of the issues through peaceful political means. She said while a vast majority of people in the State, from all shades of political opinion, want resolution of the issue through peaceful political means, it is only a marginal section of youth who indulge in violence and hamper the resolution process. “We shall have to reach out to the larger peace-loving sections of the society and try to work out a solution by listening to their concerns,” she said and called for starting a credible and result-oriented dialogue process with all the stakeholders.
Chief Minister called for reviving the reconciliation and resolution process with fresh resolve to address the political, economic and developmental concerns of the people of the State. She specifically stressed the need for reaching out to the youth to placate their anger and address the alienation in the larger interest of peace and stability in the State.
Earlier, on second day of his visit here, four delegations called on Home Minister at Nehru Guest House and discussed ongoing situation.
The delegations that called on Singh today include from All Parties Sikh Coordination Committee (APSCC) Awami Itehad Party (AIP) and National Panthers Party (NPP).
The APSCC delegation that called on Home Minister was led by its chairman, Jagmohan Singh Raina. “We told Rajnath Singh that Centre should initiate talks with all stakeholders in same way as was done by former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. We told him that these people (separatists) have paralyzed whole Valley and talks with them are important because they can’t be ignored,” he said.
The APSCC chairman said that besides reiterating demand of complete ban on use of pellet guns, they also took up the issue of minorities. “We told Home Minister that you shouldn’t discriminate among minorities. It was conveyed to him that there should be no discrimination and a Kashmir Affairs Committee led by experienced persons should be constituted,” he said.
A five-member delegation of AIP led by independent legislator Abdul Rashid Sheikh also called on Rajnath Singh at Nehru Guest House and sought talks with “real representatives’ including militants” for the resolution of Kashmir issue. “Rashid said that Government of India needs to understand that passing the buck and avoiding the resolution is the only reason why Jammu and Kashmir is bleeding since 1947,” AIP delegation told Singh.
The NPP delegation was led by its chairman Harshdev Singh and the delegation besides expressing concern over the situation in Kashmir raised series of issues being faced by Jammu region. “We told him that the situation in Kashmir is very tense and all the political parties should be involved in bringing back peace and normalcy. But we also said that the Centre should take care of all three regions,” Harshdev said.
He said that the NPP delegation conveyed to Home Minister that the Centre should also reach out to Jammu and solve the issues of refugees of Pakistan occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK), West Pakistan and also victims of border shelling. “It was conveyed that the tension is also brewing in Jammu and there is fallout of Kashmir crisis here (in Jammu) as well,” the NPP chairman said.
A delegation from Akhil Bhartiya Gujjar Mahasabha, which is being headed by Bhartiya Janata Party’s Ishfaq-ur-Rehman Poswal, also called on the Home Minister.
The Home Minister gave a patient hearing to all the delegations and asserted that restoring normalcy is the first priority of the Government. Overall, the thrust by these delegations was laid on normalizing situation in Kashmir.
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