- Indian home minister says no compromise on India’s territorial integrity
- ‘Pakistan wants to ‘destabilise’ India through Kashmir’
India’s Union Minister for Home Affairs Rajnath Singh on Sunday claimed that the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has found a ‘permanent solution’ to the Kashmir issue, but there would be ‘no compromise on the territorial integrity of India.’
Talking to a group of journalists, he ruled out inviting Hurriyat Conference for talks on Kashmir, saying whoever wanted to talk ‘development and peace’ would be welcome. “We have come up with a ‘permanent solution’ to solve Kashmir. The initiative has begun. We are moving forward,” he said.
However, the minister refused to elaborate on what kind of solution the government has found for Jammu Kashmir, which is battling nearly three decades of an independence movement. “It is too early to discuss it in public. I don’t want to discuss it with the media,” Rajnath said when asked if the solution was political in nature.
Asked about the possibility of talks with the Hurriyat leaders, he said that the government was ready for talks with all stakeholders but there would be no invitations to individuals or organisations. “We have never said no to talks. I went there (Kashmir) last year and stayed for three days for talks with all stakeholders,” he said.
“Those who wanted to talk came forward. Even Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti had written a letter of invitation to Hurriyat leaders,” he said. Rajnath said that Kashmir had indeed been a challenge for the government but refused to accept opposition’s claims that the PDP-BJP ruling combine in the state was responsible for it.
“Kashmir has been burning and the problem is decades old,” he said, and attributed recurring street unrest, increasing number of stone-pelting protests and heightened fighting to ‘radicalisation’ of young Kashmiris. “Radicalisation is a global phenomena. We are aware of it and we will tackle it,” he said.
In an interview to India Today television channel, he asserted that the centre would come out with a ‘permanent solution’ keeping in mind Kashmir, Kashmiris and Kashmiriyat. He refused to give a timeframe for a solution and insisted that the government was open for ‘unconditional’ talks with all stakeholders.
“Kashmir issue is a challenge for us and there are no two ways about it. But we want to assure India that we will come out with a ‘permanent’ solution. And we will arrive at this solution taking into consideration, Kashmir, Kashmiris and Kashmiriyat,” he said.
“We cannot allow repeated recurrence of unrest in Kashmir. We cannot allow Kashmir to burn. We cannot give a timeframe, that in one month or two months we will solve this. You don’t have instant solution to such issues. Efforts are on and we are trying with our full might to come out with a solution,” he said.
He repeatedly refused to reveal anything about the government’s strategy for a solution, but said they were open to talks with all stakeholders, including the Hurriyat. “There are no two ways about the fact that Pakistan is actively pursuing destabilising Kashmir, and through Kashmir it wants to destabilise India,” he claimed.
“I don’t want to comment on banning Hurriyat. We have taken cognisance of whatever they have said and we will do whatever is justified. We have already handed over the probe to the National Investigation Agency, let the probe report come,” he said. Asked why the Hurriyat leaders were put under house arrest and not jailed and provided with security, Rajnath put the onus on the state government.
When reminded that it was a BJP-PDP alliance at the helm in the state, Rajnath said the move to provide security to the Hurriyat was being done from earlier. He also said that the government was taking many initiatives, including inducting the youth into the security forces, to bring the Kashmiri people into the mainstream and discourage the youth from taking to ‘militancy.’