*Reviews security situation, meets Governor
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Aug 24: Declaring BJP-led Centre Government’s readiness to hold talks with all those, who believe in `Kashmiriyat, Insaniyat and Jamhooriyat’ (the agenda set for dialogue on Kashmir first by former Premier Atal Behari Vajpayee followed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi), Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh today met series of delegations including the one comprising the State Council of Ministry and held high level review of security situation with top brass of security and Intelligence agencies, police and civil administration as he reached Srinagar on two-day visit to assess 47-day long unrest in the Valley, which has claimed 67 lives and left nearly 8000 injured, more than half of them para-military and police personnel.
Rajnath had dinner meeting with Governor NN Vohra at the Raj Bhawan during which they discussed the situation prevailing in the Valley, measures taken to maintain peace and normalcy and more steps required to control the unrest to bring relief to the people.
The Governor gave his assessment of the situation to the Union Home Minister including nature of protests, internal and external dimensions, attached with the protests, involvement of certain sections in instigating the violence, the steps the State Government was taking to control unrest and the measures the Centre can take to restore peace in the Valley, sources said.
On his second visit to disturbed Valley in exactly one month, the first visit being on July 23 and 24, Rajnath Singh made significant announcement (through a tweet) soon after his arrival in the summer capital that he was ready to meet at the Nehru Guest House, where he would be staying for two-days, anyone, who believed in `Insaniyat, Kashmiriyat and Jamhooriyat’ and that any stakeholder can come and give his view point to resolve Kashmir unrest, which today entered into 47th day.
“All stakeholders are welcome to meet and inter-act with me on Kashmir situation,” he tweeted on his arrival at Srinagar, where he was received by Deputy Chief Minister, Dr Nirmal Singh, other senior Ministers of PDP-BJP Government, legislators and top officers of Army, para-military forces, civil administration and Jammu and Kashmir Police.
Union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi is accompanying the Home Minister.
An official handout issued by the Union Home Ministry said Rajnath Singh held a series of meetings with a wide spectrum of political parties in Srinagar today. He chaired a meeting of senior officers of security agencies and State Government to review the security situation in the Kashmir valley.
The regional People’s Conference leaders Sajjad Gani Lone and Bashir Ahmad Dar held consultations with the Union Home Minister at the Nehru Guest House where he has opted to stay in an effort to reach out to all sections of people in the Valley.
“A 17-member delegation of the State’s ruling major ally, People’s Democratic Party (PDP), led by party general secretary Mohammad Sartaj Madni and a 13-member Bharatiya Janata Party delegation led by State President Sat Sharma separately met Rajnath Singh.
“Former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Omar Abdullah led a 7-member delegation of the State’s main opposition National Conference. The 10-member Congress delegation was led by G A Mir while the CPI(M) delegation was led by J&K State Secretary MY Tarigami. Regional People’s Democratic Front delegation was led by its chairman Hakeem Mohammad Yaseen. A delegation of Democratic Party Nationalists led by Chairman Ghulam Hassan Mir also held talks with Singh,” the MHA handout said.
The handout added that later the Union Home Minister held a meeting with the State Cabinet Ministers led by Deputy Chief Minister Dr Nirmal Kumar Singh.
Earlier this morning, Rajnath Singh was received by Dr Nirmal Kumar Singh upon his arrival in Srinagar. The Union Home Minister, accompanied by the Union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi and senior officers of MHA, is on a two-day visit to Srinagar. Rajnath Singh will be meeting Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti and about 10 Civil Society delegations tomorrow before returning.
Apart from meeting delegations of several political parties and other organizations, Rajnath Singh had significant hour-long inter-action with Council of Ministry delegation late this evening. Deputy Chief Minister Dr Nirmal Singh, all Cabinet Ministers and Ministers of State from PDP and BJP and BJP ally Sajjad Lone (former separatist) attended the meeting.
Sources said Rajnath Singh reportedly discussed the potential stakeholders, apart from the mainstream political parties, on Jammu and Kashmir with the Council of Ministry as he assured that people of all three regions-Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh were equally important and would be taken into confidence. He was satisfied with peace and harmony prevailing in Jammu and Ladakh regions and protests reducing to only few places in the Valley, and their intensity going down gradually in the past one month when he had last visited Srinagar.
Voicing satisfaction over increase in number of the delegations that met him today and were likely to meet tomorrow as compared to previous visit, Singh told the Council of Ministry that this indicated significant shift and hoped that more and more people would come forward and respond to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s offer for dialogue
“Describing the people of Kashmir as “our own people”, the Home Minister made it clear that the Centre Government will do everything and take all steps to restore peace in the Valley and ensure adequate development of all three regions of the State-Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh.
Rajnath Singh made it clear that the Centre was committed to implementation of `Agenda of Alliance’, signed between PDP and BJP.
Asserting that the Home Minister has set the agenda for talks on Kashmir under the ambit of Constitution of India and Vajpayee’s formula of `Insaniyat, Kashmiriyat and Jamhooriyat’, Rajnath said everyone was welcome for the talks, who believe in this and the Government will take their suggestions into account.
He told the delegation that reports with the Government of India were clear that common man was fed up with protests and violence and want peace, Rajnath said there was definitely the hand of Pakistan behind the protests, which has led to death of innocent children and youth and declared that the Centre was committed to thwart designs of Pakistan, militants and other anti-national elements.
“There can be no compromise on separatism and militancy,” he said.
Earlier, at the high-level security review, which was first assignment of the Home Minister in Srinagar, top brass of multiple security agencies, para-military forces, civil administration, Intelligence and police gave detailed assessment of the situation to Singh, prevailing in the Valley since July 8 after the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani and steps being taken to control the unrest.
Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi, Chief Secretary BR Sharma, GOC 16 Corps Lt Gen SK Dua, Principal Secretary (Home), J&K, RK Goyal, Director General of Police K Rajendra and heads of all para-military forces, mainly the BSF and CRPF and Intelligence agencies operating in Jammu and Kashmir attended the meeting and briefed the Home Minister on the situation including continued protests in some parts of the Valley, attack on security force and police installations and mixing up of militants in the protests to target security forces and police.
According to sources, Rajnath Singh called upon BSF, CRPF and police officers, who were mainly dealing with the protests to exercise restraint with the protesters but show no mercy towards militants, if they mix up with the crowd to carry out subversive activities.
Some of the security agencies said there was ample evidence with them that even the protests were being carried out at the behest of militants under directions from across the Line of Control (LoC) and it was in this context that para-military personnel have been forced to retaliate effectively leading to civilian casualties but in majority of cases of civilian protests, they have exercised restraint, which was evident from injuries suffered by them. Nearly 4000 para-military and police personnel have so far been injured in the protests.
The Intelligence agencies were reported to have briefed the Home Minister that as soon as protests start subsiding for few days, the militants and other “undesirable elements” become active and instigate youth and teen-agers to take to the streets and target security force installations in which the innocent teenagers, sometimes, become casualties.
The Home Minister reviewed deployment of para-military BSF and CRPF in the sensitive areas including 17 companies of the BSF, which have recently been sent to Srinagar from different States while 10 to 12 more companies were on way to the Valley.
Sources said apart from internal security, the Home Minister also assessed the situation on militancy from including infiltration attempts and presence of militants in the hinterland amid reports that the militants have been taking advantage of unrest to strengthen their positions within the Valley and make intrusion bids on the LoC.
He was reported to have directed security, para-military forces and police not to allow militants to gain ground under the garb of unrest in the Valley. At the same time, he called for heightened vigil on the borders to thwart infiltration attempts from Pakistan.
Sources said the Home Minister agreed with the State Government’s view point that 95 per cent people want peace in the Valley and only five per cent people were creating trouble.
The delegations of Alliance partners, PDP and BJP met the Home Minister separately.
The BJP delegation was led by its president Sat Sharma, CA and voiced concern over the Kashmir situation. It said Jammu and Ladakh were equal stakeholders to any talks on Kashmir and the Union Government should take all three regions along, which it was doing at present.
The BJP delegation squarely blamed Pakistan for trouble in the Kashmir valley.
The PDP delegation, which was led by party general secretary, Sartaj Madni, endorsed Chief Minister and PDP president Mehbooba Mufti’s view point that majority of the people in the Kashmir valley want peace and these were handful of protesters, who were creating trouble in the Valley.
The PDP delegation called for talking to stakeholders to restore peace in the Valley.
The Home Minister was conveyed that there has been improvement in situation on the ground, there is no scarcity of essential commodities and health services are functioning, sources said.
On Monday, while meeting a joint opposition delegation led by former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had expressed his “deep concern and pain” over the situation there and asked all political parties to work together to find a “permanent and lasting” solution to problems in Jammu and Kashmir.
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