Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday squarely blamed Pakistan for the present unrest in Jammu and Kashmir and also said the government will set up a panel to find an alternative to pellet guns used by security forces to control protesters in the Valley.
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“Though there has been no deliberate attempt on part of the government to impose any restrictions on the publication of newspapers, however, whatever has happened, because of some communication gap, is regrettable”, the Chief Minister said, adding it will be looked into. “There was some miscommunication”, he said.
India and Pakistan, along with the genuine Kashmiri leadership, should engage in dialogue to find an amicable solution to the Kashmir problem. Police raided newspaper offices, detained printing press workers and seized tens of thousands of local newspapers. Streets were mostly deserted otherwise, and with shops still closed, people were trying to cope with shortages of food, medicine and other necessities. In addition to the printing ban, cellular and internet services were absent and landline phone access limited, except in Kashmir’s main city of Srinagar city.
Hussain, the journalist, told AP earlier that the communication and information blockade was powering rumors. “People want to know what’s happening around and when we fail to provide news, rumor mill takes over”. Two civilians were killed in retaliatory firing last evening after locals clashed with armed forced in Qazigund area of South Kashmir. Almost 2,000 civilians and about 1,600 government troops have been injured.
Meanwhile, the separatists have made a decision to extend their shutdown call up to July 25 even as the authorities have clamped curfew in certain regions.
“Instead of fixing its internal problems, Pakistan is trying to destabilize India”, the Indian media quoted Rajnath Singh as saying in the Lok Sabha during a debate on the Kashmir issue.
In occupied Kashmir, the Chairman of All Parties Hurriyet Conference, Syed Ali Gilani, and Hurriyet leaders, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Muhammad Yasin Malik have called for observance of Global Kashmir Day tomorrow and a march towards Islamabad town in the Valley on Monday.
Both India and Pakistan claim the entire Kashmir territory.
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Since 1989, more than 68,000 people have been killed in the uprising against Indian rule and the subsequent Indian military crackdown.
