There should be dialogue for permanent solution to Kashmir problem: PM Modi

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, Aug 22, 2016: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday expressed “deep concern and pain” over the situation in Kashmir and called for a dialogue to find a “permanent” solution to the problem within the framework of the Constitution.

“Those who lost their lives during recent disturbances are part of us, our nation. Whether the lives lost are of our youth, security personnel or police, it distresses us,” Modi told a delegation of Kashmir-based opposition parties.

Sixty-seven people have died in clashes between civilians and the security forces in the Valley which erupted in protest after a Hizbul Mujahideen militant was killed in a gunfight in south Kashmir on July 8. More than a thousand people have been injured.

His government and the nation were standing by Jammu and Kashmir and was committed to its development, Modi said, appealing for peace and calm.

The eight-member delegation led by former chief minister Omar Abdullah told Modi they were “dismayed” at the lack of a “political approach” in dealing with the ongoing unrest.

The delegation, which arrived in the Capital on Saturday, submitted a memorandum to Modi, urging the Centre to initiate a dialogue with all stakeholders.

The leaders, sources said, told Modi the policy of addressing concerns in Kashmir administratively rather than politically had “created an unprecedented sense of disaffection and disenchantment”, especially among the youth.

Abdullah said the Prime Minister agreed with the delegation that development alone was not an answer to the crisis. “The Prime Minister told us in categorical terms that development alone will not resolve this problem,” he told media after the meeting.

“I am not going to put words into the Prime Minister’s mouth nor am I going to draw further meaning from what he said,” he said.

The Kashmiri leaders met the President on Saturday and called on Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi a day later to convey “the seriousness of the situation”.