Home minister Rajnath Singh reviewed the security situation in the Valley on Friday during a detailed telephonic conversation he had with state chief minister Mehbooba Mufti.
Home minister Rajnath Singh reviewed the security situation in the Valley on Friday during a detailed telephonic conversation he had with state chief minister Mehbooba Mufti. Incidentally, the conversation comes close on the heels of Ms Mufti saying that neither she nor the security forces had any information about presence of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani during a raid at a hideout on July 8. Burhan Wani was killed in an encounter by Army and the Special Operations Group which triggered large scale violence in the Valley resulting in the death of 47 people.
The home minister had visited the Valley last week during which he held detailed discussions with a cross-section of representatives from political parties, civil society and other social organisations. The home ministry has also constituted a committee to look into alternatives for the pellet gun which caused severe eye injuries to a number of protesters.
The ministry sources said the two leaders discussed the security situation in the Valley in detail and decided to monitor things closely even as life was getting back to normal in the region.
During his visit Mr Singh had said the central government wants an emotional relationship with the state and not just need-based. He had also reiterated the Centre will talk to whosoever needed once peace and normalcy is restored in the state.
The main Opposition party in the state National Conference and former chief minister Omar Abdullah has rubbished Ms Mufti’s claim that she was not aware of the encounter between the security forces and Burhan Wani. Mr Abdullah claimed that Ms Mufti was kept fully informed of the July 8 encounter.
“I’m going by the first on-record statement by the Jammu and Kashmir police to the media that the CM was kept fully informed of the encounter. At no point in the first Jammu and Kashmir police media briefing was it ever suggested that they didn’t know who was trapped,” Mr Abdullah said in a series of tweets.
