Kashmir continues to remain caught in a vortex of violence since the killing of poster boy Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani in July last year.
Walking a tight rope on Kashmir, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday sent out a tough message to both Pakistan and separatists for fomenting trouble but at the same hit a conciliatory note saying that the government was working towards a permanent solution and was ready to talk to anyone.
"There are some powers in Kashmir that mislead people at the instance of Pakistan, which could not keep its eastern part. It has not been able to handle Baluchistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh and FATA either," Singh said at a news conference on the completion of three years of Modi government.
"What can Pakistan do? And what dream do the separatists have on the basis of such a Pakistan? I cannot understand," Singh said.
Singh's strong words came within hours of crackdown by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) at 22 locations in Jammu and Kashmir and Delhi targeting top separatist leaders and their close aides.
Kashmir continues to remain caught in a vortex of violence since the killing of poster boy Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani in July last year.
Reiterating that the government has a well thought-out plan for a permanent solution to Kashmir problem, Singh said, "I am saying this with utmost responsibility, after much thinking and deliberations. We have plans and are working on those. But the problem that exists since 1947 cannot be solved in a flash. It will take some time. We will do that by taking Kashmiri people into confidence."
The Home Minister, however, refused to divulge what plans the government has in mind for the permanent solution.
"We are working towards a brighter future of Jammu and Kashmir and its people, especially youth, and will remove all the stumbling blocks to achieve it," said Rajnath.
Avoiding a direct answer to a query on the use of the human shield when a man was tied to an Indian Army jeep for hours to stop stone-pelters, Singh said, the force is doing its job.
When pointed out that his cabinet colleague M Venkaiah Naidu had supported Major Leetul Gogoi's act of using a human shield, Singh said, "Whatever Naidu had said was correct".
Singh claimed the infiltration in the State has dropped 45 per cent since India launched surgical strikes on terrorist bases across the Line of Control last September.
What’s in store
Rajnath’s strong words against Pakistan even as he asserts the government’s readiness for talks indicates the government thinking.
The Centre is likely to pursue a carrot-and-stick policy against terrorists.
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