His comments came on a day when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in an all-party meeting on the situation in Indian Kashmir reportedly said that Pakistan-administered Kashmir is a part of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir.
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“Am obliged to all party leaders for raising concern on the Jammu and Kashmir issue”, Modi said while addressing the meeting.
Singh said that maintaining law and order is a priority and national security can not be compromised upon.
Responding to the Pakistan statement to invite India for dialogue on Jammu and Kashmir, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Saturday said that it welcomes dialogue on relevant issues and at this time it included stoppage of Pak-supported cross-border terrorism.
Modi essentially reiterated what his regime has been saying all along: that Kashmiri people believe in the Indian democracy and it’s only cross-border terrorism that is responsible for the ongoing unrest in the valley.
A section in the Indian establishment favours a counter-offensive by New Delhi over human rights violations in PoK and Balochistan, where Pakistan’s security forces are accused of extra-judicial killings in a crackdown on groups seeking greater autonomy for the resource-rich province.
Welcoming Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s strong assertion at the all-party meeting on the atrocities being carried out on the people of Balochistan and Pak-occupied Kashmir (PoK) by Pakistan, security expert Ajay Sahni on Saturday said the statement squarely puts Islamabad on the mat.
“The second thing is even within Kashmir, people are not adequately aware of the actual history and the actual legal and constitutional position of Pakistan held Kashmir”.
“Govt has to take confidence building measures, announce stoppage of pellet guns use, announce AFSPA to be withdrawn from the civilian areas”, he said.
“The Prime Minister said that the number of troublemakers who are inviting children and the youth is low”, said Home Minister Rajnath Singh in press conference after the all-party meeting in New Delhi.
The Envoys Conference also noted that Pakistan has made remarkable progress in fighting terrorism which has received worldwide recognition, the advisor said but added that according to the Envoys, certain countries seem to be creating a negative narrative which will be deterred, rejected and countered. He said rather than suspending the services, the government should communicate more with the youngsters using the internet whose density has gone up from 3 per cent to 30 per cent in the valley in the last few years.
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The opposition believes banning pellet guns will be a good beginning to an outreach aimed at correcting what it has called a “trust deficit”.
