“Whether the lives lost are of our youth, security personnel or police, it distresses us”, Modi said, according to an official statement.
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PM Modi had assured the delegation of opposition leaders from the state, led by Omar Abdullah, that he is pained at the deaths and injuries during protests in the Valley.
Modi emphasised on the need for a dialogue to find a permanent and lasting solution to the problem within the framework of the Constitution.
Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh held a series of meetings with a wide spectrum of political parties in Srinagar today.
More than 60 people including women and children have been killed in one of the most serious uprising in the Indian held valley after a young Kashmir freedom fighter Burhan Wani was killed by Indian security forces last month. More than 80 civilians have been killed in clashes between protesters and police and troops and thousands more injured in the worst violence to hit the restive region since 2010.
“We live in a democratic set-up”.
Tewari said that Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s assertion yesterday that those indulging in stone-pelting in Kashmir are “not satyagrahis but aggressors” showed that he and the Prime Minister are not on the same page.
On talks with Pakistan, he said the present government as well as the previous ones were of the view that dialogue with the neighbor has to continue but the issues to be discussed will be decided by the Ministry of External Affairs.
The Border Security Force (BSF), which was deployed in Srinagar on Monday after a gap of 12 years, occupied several school buildings in Srinagar to set up their camps. “We also sought a ban on the use of pellet guns”.
Abdullah said that the prime minister listened to “us with patience and accepted our memorandum” after a 75-minute-long meeting.
Hurriyet leadership has unanimously said that the solution to the Indian-occupied Kashmir dispute lies only in securing the Kashmiris right to self-determination in accordance with the resolutions of the United Nations on Kashmir.
“Abdullah told media persons later that they told Modi that Kashmir was not an issue related to development or the lack of it”.
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Omar led delegation has already met President Pranab Mukherjee and Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi to apprise them of the situation in Kashmir. Most Kashmiris want an end to Indian rule and favor independence or a merger with Pakistan.
