The death toll in the ongoing Kashmir unrest mounted to 45 today with another civilian, Ishtiyaq Ahmad, a resident of Kokernag area, succumbing to injuries at Srinagar’s SKIMS last night.
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Violence in Kashmir started after killing of Burhan Wani.
“I appeal to people to restore peace and normalcy”, he said, adding New Delhi was ready for a “constructive” dialogue which can help in restoring normalcy in the troubled valley.
Rajnath Singh, in no ambiguous terms, asked Pakistan to stop meddling in Kashmir affairs. In a strong statement, MEA spokesperson Vikas Swarup said, “The observance of “Kashmir’s Accession to Pakistan Day’ exposes Pakistan’s longing for the territory of J&K”. “It is itself affected by terrorism”. “Kashmir will be abode of humanity”. “We will take chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir into confidence before talking to anyone”, Singh said. “There is no other way”. The separatist leaders Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Yasin Malik who are spearheading a shutdown campaign have issued fresh calendar of shutdown and protests till July 29. “The committee will submit report in 2 months”.
At least 49 civilians, mostly teens and young men, have been killed as government forces fired live ammunition and pellets at protesters. However, there has been no discussion or any implementation about it since then.
Maintaining that former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee was still BJP ideologue, Rajnath Singh in response to another query said, “Vajpayee Ji is our ideologue; let normalcy be restored, Aagaye agagyae dekhtay jayen (watch what happens next)”. “There is a mindset that stokes baseless anger against India”, he said, adding that same “distorted mindset” can be seen in parts of Chhattisgarh, in a reference to Maoist violence there. “It is not like pellet guns were not used in Kashmir in the past, they were, in fact, used in 2010 as well and they are listed as non-lethal weapons”. The delegation also highlighted the crucial importance of peace, saying sanity must prevail so that Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh steer on the path of development and progress.
“Please seek the cooperation and guidance of the real leaders of people and stakeholders, that includes Pakistan”, the KEA said.
Police sources said more than 3,000 police and security force personnel had suffered injuries across Kashmir over the past fortnight. The high level meeting was attended by a National conference delegation led by Omar Abdullah.
India is “worried about the situation in Kashmir”, he told reporters. “I want to make it clear that Government of India will not tolerate terrorism”, he said.
While Singh called on Pakistan to change its “behaviour”, he was guarded on talks with separatists. “We will ensure they are treated at AIIMS”, he said. “One more didn’t accept the offer”, the spokesperson had said. Rajnath said that security forces were instructed to exercise maximum restraint while dealing with protests in the Kashmir valley.
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Home Minister also assured the delegations that necessary tangible action would be taken to address the concerns and difficulties. He is addressing the media on the Kashmir unrest.
