Kashmir unrest: Miffed Centre to toughen stand against separatists, cut funds and security

While the Centre has decided to scale down the security presence in Jammu and Kashmir after Home Minister Rajnath Singh-led all-party delegation's visit to the state, the separatists leaders' refusal to hold talks has not gone down well with the government. After Singh's meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday, the Central government indicated that it will toughen its stand against the separatist leaders.

Reports suggested that the Centre will not only scrutinise the bank accounts of the separatists, but also speed up pending investigations in cases against them. These leaders are also likely to be banned from making foreign trips and Z-scale security provided to them will be scaled down.

Union Minister of State for Home Affairs of India Kiren Rijiju said that the government will take action keeping national interest in mind.



Source:-firstpost
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Fear of prolonged violence grips Kashmir as Centre fails to break the ice with separatists

The Home Minister announced that parliamentary delegation leaders who met the Hurriyat leaders did so in their individual capacities, thereby distancing himself from Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti’s overtures towards the separatists.

This has further weakened Mehbooba’s position as a leader in Kashmir. Mehbooba had written a letter to the separatists to come forward and engage with the parliamentary delegation. This development will further complicate problems for the ruling alliance of the PDP-BJP led by Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti.

That the BJP was not on board Mehbooba’s decision to invite Hurriyat for talks was reinforced by Home Minister Rajnath Singh's statement that Mehbooba had approached the separatists in her individual capacity.

For people like Umar Wani, a resident of Rajbagh area of Srinagar, the failure to initiate talks is a big disappointment. “BJP’s Ram Madhav says Kashmir can ask for the moon within the Indian Constitution. Then why doesn’t the BJP leadership offer the same to Hurriyat? If they reject, the blame will come on them,” Wani told Firstpost after Home Minister Singh’s press conference.

“But right now, they are offering nothing. Why should the Hurriyat talk to them? There has to be a starting point for talks. I fear the situation will worsen now,” he added.

Hurriyat leader Abdul Gani Bhat told Firstpost that said that unless India and Pakistan do not engage in a sustained meaningful dialogue on Kashmir, the issue will never be resolved.

“They have to listen to the heartbeats of Kashmir. We got honored guests from Delhi and met them and later saw them off very gracefully. We were not against insaniyat. We had taken a collective decision not to meet them because they had no mandate,” Bhat told Firstpost.

Kashmir is unlikely to see the return of the normalcy any time soon and the cycle of violence is likely to prolong following the failure of the central government to break the ice. More than 70 people have been killed in the past 58 days, triggered by the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani. There is no ray of hope that the unrest is turning weak, but with every new killing, injury or arrest, the people are getting angrier.

Dr Peer GN Suhail, director of Centre for Research and Development Policy (CRDP), a policy think tank based in Srinagar, said that there is no harm in talking to anyone but the dialogue has to be result-oriented and not just for photo-op.

“Since the parliament delegation did not have any mandate and there recommendations would not have been binding on the Government of India, talking to the delegation would have yielded results,” Suhail told Firstpost.

Despite all this, the situation in Kashmir will return to normalcy because as the Darbar shifts to Jammu and winter sets in, the chill automatically will calm the temperatures. But this will be temporary, because the seeds of angst buried under snow often sprout in summers in the form of another summer agitation.


Source:-firstpost
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India's future incomplete without peaceful Kashmir: Rajnath Singh

 Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday made a passionate appeal for peace in the Kashmir Valley, saying India's future was incomplete without a peaceful Kashmir and announced that an all-party delegation will visit the state soon for talks on ending a protracted violent unrest that has killed nearly 70 people since July 9.

At a press conference towards the end of his two-day Kashmir tour, Rajnath Singh conceded a popular demand, saying that an alternative to the use of pellet guns as a tool to control unruly mobs would be found "in a few days".

During his stay in Srinagar, the Home Minister said he met some 300 people, including leaders of all political parties in the state, with whom he had "good talks".

"Everybody wants peace to be restored. We are extremely sad over the situation. We are pained over the loss of lives," the minister said with Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti by his side.

In an oblique reference to separatist leaders, the Home Minister said people should "not play with the future of Kashmiri youth".

"They (youth) should hold books, pens and laptops in their hands and not stones," he said. "We are linking the future of Kashmiri youth with the future of India. And I appeal to Kashmir people to identify those who are creating trouble."

India's future, he said, is intrinsically linked to the future of Kashmir.

He said leaders of all political parties will soon visit here for talks on finding ways to break the logjam in the valley. "I have asked the state government to make all preparations for that."

Asked if he invited separatist leaders — who have been spearheading the agitation — for talks, Rajnath Singh said the government was ready to hold talks with anyone who believed in "insaniyat, jamhooriyat and Kashmiriyat".

Notably, he didn't name Pakistan for stoking trouble in the valley and didn't repeat that talks over Kashmir will only be held under the realm of the Constitution of India — unlike previously.

It was the minister's second visit to the valley in a month since the unrest, the deadliest in six years, erupted after the July 8 killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani.

At least 67 civilians have been killed and thousands injured in firing by security forces at pro-freedom demonstrations. Most of the injuries have been caused by pellet guns that have left hundreds partially or fully blinded.

Mehbooba Mufti justified the killings by security forces saying those hit by bullets or pellets had not gone to fetch milk or toffees.

She was asked how she justified the alleged disproportionate use of force against Kashmiri protesters when as opposition leader she had criticised the government during a similar unrest in 2010 for civilian killings. The Chief Minister got angry and asked a reporter not to compare the two situations.

"You are wrong. What happened in 2010 had a reason. There was a fake encounter in Machil. Three civilians were killed. Today three militants were killed in an encounter and how is the government to be blamed for that," she said, referring to Wani's killing.

She said people had come out on the roads even though the government had imposed a strict curfew.

"Had a kid gone to buy a toffee from an army camp? A 15-year-old boy who attacked a police station (in south Kashmir), had he gone to buy milk?" she asked.

She added emphatically that poor Kashmiri youth were being used as shields by vested interests. " 95 per cent people killed are from poor families."

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader said only 5 per cent of Kashmiri people were resorting to violence and the rest "95 per cent percent people want peace...a dialogue to resolve the Kashmir issue".

Appearing irritated, Mehbooba abruptly ended the press conference saying "Thank you" and invited journalists for a cup of tea.

The Home Minister ended his valley visit during which he met leaders of all mainstream parties and officials of civil, security and intelligence agencies.

However, trade bodies in Kashmir refused to meet him in protest against the civilian killings in Kashmir.
Source:-businessstandard
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Hafiz Saeed wants nationwide protest in Pakistan if Rajnath Singh is allowed to visit

Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed has asked the Pakistani government not to allow Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh to visit Pakistan and has warned of a nationwide protest if Singh does visit the country.

According to India Today, Saeed said that if Rajnath Singh's visit to Pakistan should only be considered if India allows the Pakistani government to send people to Jammu and Kashmir to help the Kashmiris there.

He also said that Pakistan should stop the export of onions and potatoes to India and should instead send relief materials to Kashmir.


Accusing Rajnath Singh of being "responsible for the killings of innocent Kashmiris", Saeed has warned of a countrywide protest in Pakistan by his outfit if the home minister arrives in Islamabad to attend the Saarc ministerial conference.

"I want to ask the Pakistani government: Will it add insult to injury to the wounds of Kashmiris by welcoming Rajnath who is responsible for the killings of innocent Kashmiris?" he asked in a statement in Lahore.

"It will be ironic as on the one hand, the whole Pakistani nation is protesting against the Indian atrocities in Kashmir and on the other hand, the Pakistani rulers will be garlanding Singh," said the statement issued on Monday.

The mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai attack said "if Singh comes to Islamabad on August 3, the JuD would hold countrywide protest to tell the world that the Pakistani rulers might have compulsions to receive Kashmiris' killers but the people of Pakistan are siding with oppressed Kashmiris."

He added that protest demonstrations will be held and rallies taken out in Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, Quetta, Multan, Faisalabad, Muzaffarabad and other cities of the country on 3 August.

Saeed, who is carrying a $10 million US bounty on his head, warned the government that Singh's presence in Islamabad may create "unrest" among Kashmiris as well as Pakistanis in the face of scores of killings of Kashmiris "at the hands of Indian forces".

The people of Kashmir had refused to meet Singh during his Srinagar visit, he said adding the PML-N government "must also refuse to receive the BJP leader on the excuse that it may hurt and incite feelings of Kashmiris and Pakistanis."
Source:-Firstpost
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CRPF DG K Durga feels sorry for pellet injuries in Kashmir

NEW DELHI: CRPF director general K Durga Prasad on Monday apologised for injuries caused to people by use of pellet gun in Kashmir but said they would continue to use it. His statements comes a day after home minister Rajnath Singh's two-day Kashmir visit.

CRPF DG said they were studying the versions of pellet guns available worldwide to identify the less lethal options. "We feel sorry for the pellet injuries in Kashmir. CRPF personnel have been asked to aim below the knee level.

The officer informed that during the ongoing Kashmir unrest, which spiralled after Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Burhan Wani was gunned down in an encounter on July 8, CRPF personnel fired 2223 times from the pellet guns. CRPF also fired 136 stun grenades to control the people who were pelting stones at the forces.

The officer informed that during the ongoing Kashmir unrest, which spiralled after Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Burhan Wani was gunned down in an encounter on July 8, CRPF personnel fired 2223 times from the pellet guns. CRPF also fired 136 stun grenades to control the people who were pelting stones at the forces.
source:-indiatimes
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No role for third power, we want to have emotional bond with Kashmir: Rajnath Singh

RULING out any role for a “third power” and asking Pakistan to stay away from Kashmir, Union Home Minister rajnath Singh on Sunday set the restoration of “peace and normalcy” as the main condition to initiate talks with those “we have to talk with” in the Valley.
“There is no role for any third power to improve the situation in Jammu and Kashmir,” Singh said at the end of his two-day visit to the Valley.
“We want to tell our neighbouring country (Pakistan) that you are yourself a victim of terrorism. You enter the Lal Masjid to eradicate terrorism. And on the other hand, you ask the youth of Kashmir to pick up guns. This should end,” he said.
Later, making her first appearance before the media after violence erupted across the Valley following the killing of militant Burhan Wani on July 8, Chief Minister and PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti accused Pakistan of instigating youth in Kashmir.
Slamming Pakistan for its “duplicity”, Mufti said, “We have sympathy for Pakistan. But when their own children, from madrassas, take up guns, they use drones against them, hang them… they instigated our youth, saying that if you pick up guns, you will become leaders, you will become martyrs.”
Source:-indianexpress
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Stop Deplorable Interfering, Withdraw From PoK: India's Strong Statement

    India blames Pak for huge unrest in Kashmir Valley
    40 killed, 3,000 injured since terrorist Burhan Wani was shot
    Pak eulogises Wani, accuses India of atrocities in Kashmir

After incessant provocation from Pakistan - which included its observing a "Black Day" to commemorate the victims of the recent clashes in the Kashmir Valley - India today issued a strong recrimination, stating that the violence was "led by UN-designated terrorists" who get "encouragement and support" from Pakistan.

At least 40 people have died and more than 3,000 have been injured in the violence that erupted in Kashmir after Burhan Wani, a 22-year-old terrorist, was killed by security forces on the night of July 8. Home Minister Rajnath Singh has told Parliament that the Pakistani government has instigated the unrest to distract from its own domestic failures. 

The "Black Day" declared yesterday by Islamabad "exposes Pakistan's longing for the territory of Jammu & Kashmir. India demands that Pakistan must fulfil the obligation to vacate its illegal occupation of POK (Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir)," a statement from the Foreign Ministry said today adding that Islamabad must "refrain from its deplorable meddling in our internal affairs in any manner."

Wani's death has been used by Pakistan at the United Nations and in near-daily statements to accuse India of atrocities in Kashmir. Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif referred to Wani, a commander of the Hizbul Mujahideen, as "a Kashmiri leader"; he has been eulogised by Pakistani officials.

Wani's shooting incited large clashes between security forces and civilians, many of them stone-throwing protestors, who accuse the state of unrestrained force in dealing with dissent. Huge mobs have defied curfews to attack security bunkers, set police stations on fire, and seize weapons from army officers, a tactic propagated by Wani, who used social media to recruit other young men like himself for the Mujahideen, the largest terror group in Kashmir.

The worst violence in six years in the Valley has been fueled by anger over the allegedly indiscriminate use of pellets fired by security troops from non-lethal weapons, resulting in eye injuries for hundreds of people.

Large parts of the Valley remain under curfew with mobile phone services blocked; a temporary ban on local newspapers was withdrawn by the state government after much criticism.
Source:-NDTV
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Pakistan covets territory of others, uses terror as state policy towards that misguided end: India at UN

Syed Akbaruddin, India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, on Wednesday strongly hit back at Pakistan for raising the issues of alleged human rights violations in Kashmir and killing of Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Burhan Wani during a debate on human rights.

Responding strongly to the remarks made by Pakistan's envoy Maleeha Lodhi during a high-level thematic debate titled 'UN@70 Human Rights at the center of the global agenda', Akbaruddin accused Islamabad of attempting to misuse the UN platform.

“The attempt came from Pakistan; a country that covets the territory of others; a country that uses terrorism as state policy towards that misguided end; a country that extols the virtues of terrorists and that provides sanctuary to UN-designated terrorists; and a country that masquerades its efforts as support for human rights and self determination,” the Indian envoy to the UN said in a hard-hitting statement.

He was responding to Lodhi who apart from raising the Kashmir issue had also mentioned the "extra-judicial" killing of Wani, whom she described as a "Kashmiri leader", by Indian forces.

Akbaruddin said it was Pakistan which had failed to convince the international community on its human rights track record.

“Pakistan is the same country whose track record has failed to convince the international community to gain membership of the Human Rights Council in this very Session of the UNGA,” he told the 193-member United Nations General Assembly.

“The international community has long seen through such designs. Cynical attempts, like the one this morning therefore, find no resonance in this forum or elsewhere in the United Nations,” he added.

Reiterating India's commitment to upholding the rule of law and protecting human rights, the Indian envoy said, “As a diverse, pluralistic and tolerant society, India’s commitment to the rule of law, democracy and human rights is enshrined in its founding principles.”

“We remain strongly committed to the promotion and protection of all human rights for all through pursuit of dialogue and cooperation,” he added.

Source: http://zeenews.india.com