On Wednesday, Home Minister Rajnath Singh arrived in Jammu and Kashmir for a two-day visit, where he chose to be driven through a tense Srinagar amidst strict curfew and heightened security across the Valley.
Rajnath reviewed the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir, held talks with various stakeholders and invited all those who believe in ‘Kashmiriyat, Insaniyat and Jamhooriyat’.
The Home Minister met a National Conference delegation led by Omar Abdullah who reiterated the importance of initiation of a political dialogue in the state.
Singh also met a delegation of Congress members which was followed by a meet with BJP workers led by Jammu and Kashmir state president, Sat Sharma.
- 01/03Rajnath meets BJP members from the valley. (Photo Courtesy: Twitter/Ani_news)
- 02/03Rajnath Singh meets the leader of opposition in the valley, Omar Abdullah. (Photo Courtesy: Twitter/Ani_news)
- 03/03Rajnath Singh meets members of a Congress delegation at the Nehru guest house. (Photo Courtesy: Twitter/Ani_news)
Singh is staying at Srinagar’s Nehru guest house where he will interact with different sections of people on Kashmir issue. He is also expected to hold meetings with Governor NN Vohra and Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on the intensifying violence in Kashmir.
Rajnath Singh has held two rounds of talks with “eminent citizens”, mostly non-Kashmiri Muslims, to find a solution to the situation brewing in Kashmir.
The visit comes a day after daytime curfew was removed from Srinagar amid a relative calm in parts of the city. It was for the first time in more than five weeks that the restrictions were eased in the uptown areas.
However, the curfew was back in place on Wednesday.
Earlier, Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and Congress member, Ghulam Nabi Azad had suggested that the government follow former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s example , and speak to the separatists.
State interlocutor MM Ansari also raised the same point, saying that the rigidity against separatists has “antagonised sections in Kashmir.”
The Home Minister, earlier on Saturday had lashed out at Pakistan for the rising unrest in Kashmir, urging the Kashmiri youth to pick up pens and computers instead of stones and bricks.
(With agency inputs.)
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