Rajnath-led all-party team in J&K September 4

Pellet gun report submitted; total ban unlikely

An all-party delegation led by home minister Rajnath Singh will visit the Kashmir Valley on September 4 to hold consultations with various sections of the society in a bid to resolve the ongoing crisis in the state. Home ministry officials said both the Centre and the state government are keen to bring the separatists on board so that their representatives also meet the delegation from Delhi.

The possibility, sources said, of the government trying to reach out to the separatists, particularly the Hurriyat, as part of their track two initiative cannot be ruled out. So far the separatists have refused to meet home minister during his two visits to the Valley in the past one month.

“We are very keen that the separatists also join the dialogue process, but so far they have refused. So now we need to see how they can be approached to take things forward. The state government has also been asked to explore the possibility as to how a dialogue can be held with the separatists,” a senior ministry official said. Home minister had an hour-long meeting with BJP chief Amit Shah, finance minister Arun Jaitley and MoS in PMO Jitendra Singh on Sunday to discussed modalities of the all-party delegation. The government has asked all political parties to give names of their leaders who will be part of the team.

Meanwhile, home minister sources said that pellet guns may not be completely banned in the Valley, but that their use will be restricted to the “rarest of rare cases”. The expert committee constituted by the home ministry to look for alternatives to pellet guns submitted its report to the ministry late Monday night.

The committee is believed to have recommended the use of PAVA shells, a chilli-based ammunition, which is less lethal and immobilises the target temporarily. But the ministry is keen that the option of using pellet guns should also remain, though only in extreme conditions.

The ministry’s analysis is based on feedback received from security forces operating in the Valley who are keen that pellet guns not be banned completely. Government has come under severe criticism over the use pellet guns as it has blinded a number of protesters during the 51-day agitation in the Valley.