PC: Fresh J&K peace bid in next few days
Union home minister P. Chidambaram on Wednesday hinted at the beginning of a peace dialogue in Kashmir in the next few days, and reiterated the government’s offer of a dialogue with all sections of the people and all political parties and groups in the state. He also said the Centre had acknowledged that a political solution must be found to the state’s problems.
“We are concerned that we have not been able to stop the vicious cycle in which that state is caught,” he said while inaugurating a three-day conference of directors-general and inspectors-general of police here.
“However, it is my hope that in the next few days we would be able to find that elusive ‘starting point’ from where we could reach out to the protesters, reassure them of their rights and dignity, restore peace and order, redeem the promises made, and restart the process of dialogue that will lead to a solution,” he said.
Mr Chidambaram said Kashmir has been caught in a vicious cycle of stone-pelting, lathicharge, teargassing and firing, leading to casualties and resulting in more stone-pelting since June this year.
He said the security forces had been instructed to act with great restraint, but acknowledged that the situation was yet to return to normal.
The Kashmir Valley was rocked by violence following the death of a teenager on June 11 after he was allegedly hit by a teargas shell. After that, street protests and clashes with the security forces erupted all across the Valley, claiming 63 lives.
Mr Chidambaram said beginning 2005, and with the exception of 2008, the law and order situation in the state had been extremely benign, with few incidents and fewer casualties. “Unfortunately, since June this year, there has been an unexpected turn of events... The situation has not yet returned to normal.”
The home minister, however, noted that amid serious disturbances, 4.57 lakh pilgrims had completed the Amarnath Yatra, exceeding last year’s 3.92 lakhs. “So far, 516,970 tourists have visited Jammu and Kashmir, and that number also exceeds the 355,960 tourists of last year,” he said.
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