NEW DELHI : Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh will visit Kashmir for two days from tomorrow in a bid to calm down tension that erupted following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani, with clashes between protesters and security forces in the Valley leaving 45 dead.
Singh, who will reach Srinagar around 11 AM, will first interact with Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti and senior officials and review the law and order situation in Kashmir Valley.
After that, he will meet representatives of political parties, social organisations and leading citizens to get their feedback about the Kashmir situation as well as future roadmap, official sources said here.
Singh will stay at Nehru guest house in Srinagar, where he will meet the public representatives.
The Home Minister had said in Parliament yesterday that he would visit Kashmir and stay in a guest house to talk to people from all walks of life there.
“We are sure that we will succeed in improving the condition in Kashmir,” he had said.
The Home Minister has already announced setting up of an expert committee to recommend alternative to pellet guns, amid strong criticism of the use of weapon for mob control in Kashmir.
Describing the youth of Kashmir as “patriots”, he had said “there is an attempt to misguide some” of them and a “mindset that stokes baseless anger against India”.
Singh said Pakistan played a “key role” in fuelling tension and that the situation was “normalising” gradually.
He also reached out to other political parties, saying the government alone cannot solve problems in Kashmir and all parties would have to work together.
The Home Minister had described Wani, whose killing in an encounter sparked the recent protests, as a “tech-savvy terrorist of new generation” who had exploited social media platforms to lure youths into picking up the gun.
At least 45 youths have lost their lives during violent protests following the killing of Wani, even as curfew remained in force in all 10 districts of the Valley due to apprehension of law and order problems in view of large gatherings for Friday prayers. (AGENCIES)
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