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Business News/ Politics / Policy/  Kashmir crisis: Alternatives to pellet guns soon, says Rajnath Singh
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Kashmir crisis: Alternatives to pellet guns soon, says Rajnath Singh

Home minister Rajnath Singh says the expert committee set up to review the use of pellet guns would submit its report in the next few days

Home minister Rajnath Singh says if Kashmir’s future is not secure, India’s future in not secure too. Photo: PTIPremium
Home minister Rajnath Singh says if Kashmir’s future is not secure, India’s future in not secure too. Photo: PTI

New Delhi: Home minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday signalled a rethink on the use of pellet guns as a non-lethal weapon to disperse crowd even as he remained non-committal on the possibility of holding a dialogue with separatists and members of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference.

Speaking to reporters on the second day of his two-day visit to Srinagar to review the security situation in the valley, Singh said an expert committee set up to review the use of pellet guns would submit its report in the next few days. “In 2010, the pellet gun was considered the best non-lethal weapon, but in the wake of recent events, there is probably a need to rethink their use," he said.

Singh said that he had been informed security forces were exercising maximum restraint.

“I also appeal to the people of Kashmir that they shouldn’t forget the role our security forces played during the 2014 floods."

Responding to a query on the government’s intention to holding talks with separatist elements, Singh said he was in the valley to talk to anyone who believed in “Kashmiriyat, Insaniyat and Jamhooriyat". “I have met more than 20 delegations and 300 people since I have come to Kashmir and representatives of all political parties; everyone wants peace," the home minister said, while reiterating that both he and Prime Minister Narendra Modi were deeply saddened and hurt by the current situation in Kashmir.

Also Read: Mehbooba Mufti leaves Kashmir press meet in a huff

Kashmir has been on the boil since 8 July, when Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani was gunned down by Indian security forces. Various parts of the valley have been under curfew for the past 46 days after violent protests erupted following the killing of Wani and led to the death of 68 civilians in clashes with security forces.

“Whether it’s a Kashmiri youngster or security personnel, the whole country mourns when our young die," Singh said. “I appeal to whoever is misleading young Kashmiri boys to not toy with their future."

The home minister said the fact that he was visiting the valley for the second time in a span of just over a month should be seen as the government’s commitment to restore normalcy in the region. “We cannot think of Kashmir’s future as separate from India. If Kashmir’s future is not secure, India’s future is not secure too," he said.

Singh contended that the state government in Kashmir—an alliance between the Bharatiya Janata Party and the People’s Democratic Party—was committed to the “agenda of alliance".

Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti too asserted that “95% people in the valley wanted peace and reconciliation". “The 5% who mislead kids into pelting stones don’t represent Kashmiris," she said.

Singh said he has asked Mufti to prepare the ground for an all-party delegation to visit the valley and also announced the appointment of a nodal officer by the Union home ministry to address concerns of Kashmiris living in other parts of the country.

Meanwhile, Ghulam Nabi Azad, senior Congress leader and leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha, told reporters he hoped the home minister would appeal for peace. “We hope that home minister not only talks with political parties; there are others as well, non-state political parties and other stakeholders. He should hold talks with students, trade unions and different communities. There should be peace. I have never seen any minister or the Prime Minister appeal for peace, neither inside nor outside Parliament nor in Kashmir. The least they can do is to appeal," PTI quoted Azad.

Anuja contributed to this story.

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Published: 25 Aug 2016, 01:32 PM IST
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