He said the prevailing situation in Jammu and Kashmir has many aspects, including the internal situation and the role of state and central governments, besides external forces.
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Vice President Hamid Ansari agreed to hold a discussion on the present unrest in Kashmir during the post lunch session of the Rajya Sabha on Monday. “Should the same bullets that are used on militants be used on innocent people of the state”, asked Azad.
Ghulam Nabi Azad, leader of Opposition in the Upper House, questioned the killing of around 40 civilians by the security forces in the Valley in the aftermath of Burhan Wani’s death.
“Whatever is happening in Kashmir is Pakistan-sponsored”.
Making this assertion in the Rajya Sabha, Singh said the Indian democracy and its people were the best guardians of minorities and chided Pakistan for not being able to set its own house which is rocked by sectarian violence. He told parliament he would visit Kashmir soon and hold talks with people “whose pain is being felt by every Indian”. We were in power in the State as well as Centre.
He refuted Congress’ charge that Jammu and Kashmir was disturbed because of the PDP-BJP coalition government failed to handle the situation, and instead blamed Pakistan as the “sole reason” for the problems there. While Singh said the allegations of “excessive force” were a matter of investigation, he said the use of pellet guns, that permanently blinded scores of protesters, would be looked into.
The government on Monday said the battle in Kashmir was between the country and the separatists and that violence fomented from across the border will not be tolerated.
“The same bullet used to kill militants should not be used to kill children, women and youngsters”.
The standard line followed by China in recent years on issues relating to Kashmir was that it is an issue between India and Pakistan and should be properly handled by the two sides through dialogue and consultation.
They also called for arranging separate conferences to highlight the Kashmir issue at the national and worldwide level.
Giving details of Kashmir, Singh said there were 566 instances of violence in which 33 civilians died, 1948 got injured of which 1744 have been discharged and 204 are still in hospitals.
Authorities lifted a three-day publication ban in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir, but newspapers delayed print runs Tuesday due to uncertainties about the restrictions imposed during massive anti-India protests that have left dozens of people dead and hundreds injured.
Mohammad Khalil Band suffered injuries when a mob pelted stones at his vehicle in Pulwama district last night.
Lawmakers on Monday came down heavily on several television channels for whipping up the communal frenzy though their prime time debates. “The PM called me even when he was out of the country and immediately after landing the first thing he did was to call a meeting to review Kashmir situation”.
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Local news agencies also said they have stopped their news bulletins after police allegedly asked them not to issue those.
