Rajnath heads to J&K for more talks, reluctance to involve Hurriyat slammed
NEW DELHI: Home minister Rajnath Singh will begin a two-day visit to Srinagar on Wednesday that will see him hold a fresh review of the situation in Jammu & Kashmir, and hold a second round of meetings with the state’s various stakeholders to hear their grievances and suggestions.
The visit follows exactly a month after the first such exercise held by Singh in the J&K capital. The home minister will spend the next two days discussing the security scenario in the valley, which showed signs of normalcy on Tuesday, and interacting with J&K representatives and civil society members.His schedule includes meetings with J&K chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, governor NN Vohra, top officials of the state government and security forces, representatives of various political parties as well as civil society delegations that may include school managements and Kashmiri Pandits.
“During his last visit, the home minister had categorically said that he would continue to visit Jammu & Kashmir for sustained interaction with its people. The latest visit is a continuation of this engagement with all sections willing to talk and help resolve theJ&K problem+ within the framework of the Constitution. It may also help lay the ground for a possible visit by an all-party delegation to the state,” said a home ministry official.
The officer, however, ruled out any interaction with the Hurriyat. Incidentally, Singh’s engagement with J&K representatives runs parallel to his consultations here with eminent citizens, mostly prominent non-Kashmiri Muslims, to discuss their assessment of the Kashmir problem as well as the way forward.
He held two rounds of meetings on August 18 and 21 with experts, including former J&K interlocutor MM Ansari, Milli Gazette editor Zafarul Islam Khan, Rajya Sabha member Shahid Siddiqui, former judge Ishrat Masroor Quddusi, Supreme Court advocate Ashok Bhan and former AAP member Mufti Shameem Kazmi. During these meetings, the experts objected to the use of pellet guns in the valley and demanded that they be replaced by modern crowd control measures like water cannons, rubber bullets and tear gas.
Ansari questioned the Modi government’s reluctance to engage with the Hurriyat, reminding that even the Vajpayee government had included them in the J&K dialogue. “This rigidity against including separatists has antagonised sections in Kashmir,” he said. Incidentally, the government is now dusting the various studies on Jammu & Kashmir, including the interlocutor’s report, for any meaningful suggestions.
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