Abdullah said that the prime minister listened to “us with patience and accepted our memorandum” after a 75-minute-long meeting. “He emphasized that there has to be dialogue and we need to find a permanent and lasting solution to the problem within the framework of the Constitution”, said a PMO release issued after the meeting.
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Acknowledging that situation in Kashmir was serious, senior Union Minister Arun Jaitley said those indulging in stone-pelting in Kashmir are not satyagrahis but aggressors who target police and security forces but some people with limited vision can not see this.
She welcomed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statement that dialogue is important for a lasting solution.
“We can’t lecture Pakistan, preach to Nepal and Sri Lanka while we book Amnesty for sedition at home”, said Abdullah, who heads the opposition National Conference party.
“The Prime Minister told us in categorical terms that development alone will not resolve this problem”, he said and refused to draw any conclusion from that.
Interestingly on Sunday, finance minister Arun jaitley had hinted at a harsh stand on the stone pelters of Kashmir while speaking at a public rally in Jammu region.
The Supreme Court on Monday agreed with the stand of the central government over unrest in Jammu and Kashmir, saying the issue can not be dealt with by the courts.
“We get, nearly every day, people injured with pellets and numerous patients lose their eyesight”, he said. “Kashimiri people do not want to live with Pakistan”.
The ongoing trouble in Kashmir should be “dealt with politically” and everything can not be managed within judicial parameters, Supreme Court said on Monday. Yes, we are not blameless, I have never said that mistakes were never made by us.
The Valley has been crippled by a curfew and protests called by separatists since July 9, a day after the killing of a Hizbul terrorist Burhan Wani, in a gunfight with the security forces.
“We hope that our efforts will bear some fruits”. Kashmiris are peaceloving people and they don’t like violence.
“We are quite happy to hold mirror up for other countries to take a look at”.
Contending that the unrest in Kashmir was “pre-planned”, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti yesterday said a “handful of people” were deliberately keeping the Valley on the boil.
Twenty-six companies (100 personnel in each company) of Border Security Force (BSF) are being dispatched to trouble-torn areas in the state for maintaining law and order, official sources said.
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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.
