New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today chaired a high-level meeting on the situation in Kashmir Valley which has been rocked by violent protests in the wake of the killing of Hizbul commander Burhan Wani.

Back from a visit to four African countries, Modi convened a meeting of Union Ministers and senior officials.

The Prime Minister was given a detailed presentation of the situation prevailing in the Valley which has witnessed escalating protests following the killing of Wani on Friday.

Violent clashes between security forces and protestors have so far left 24 dead.

The meeting was attended by Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, Minister of State for PMO Jitendra Singh, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar among others.

Yesterday, Parrikar, Jaitley and Doval, who returned a day earlier from Africa where he was accompanying the Prime Minister, had met to discuss the situation.

The Ministers were briefed by Chiefs of central security agencies about the steps taken to bring back peace and normalcy in the Valley.

All forces have been asked to ensure security of Amarnath pilgrims and enhance vigil along the border to check fresh attempts of infiltration from across the border.

Sources said security forces were asked to ensure judicious use of force against protesting civilians.

Parrikar had told reporters that an overall assessment of security situation in Kashmir has to be done by the Home Ministry and Army was ready to provide any assistance like increasing force levels in any areas required.

Earlier, the Home Minister had reached out to opposition leaders including Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and Parliamentary leaders of all parties, and discussed the prevailing situation there.

During the telephonic conversation with Gandhi and National Conference leader Omar, the Home Minister had discussed with them efforts to bring back peace and normalcy in Kashmir Valley.

Toll in Kashmir violence climbs to 24, curfew remains in force

 

 

Srinagar:Curfew today remained in force in many parts of the Valley including pockets of Srinagar city and Pulwama district as authorities braced for more protests on the fourth day of militant commander Burhan Wani’s killing even as the toll in the violent clashes between protestors and security forces climbed to 24.

A youth injured yesterday in the protests succumbed at a hospital here.

Adil Ahmad Mattoo, who was injured in the firing incident at Bijbehara, succumbed to injuries at SMHS Hospital here late last night, a police official said today.

More than 350 persons including over 115 security force personnel have been injured in the clashes and militant attacks following killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Wani as the situation continued to be tense across the Valley.

Authorities are braced for more protests on the occasion of the fourth day of Wani’s killing.

Deputy Commissioner Pulwama Muneerul Islam said the government will open all ration stores tomorrow if the day passed off peacefully.

“If the situation remains peaceful, we will open all the ration stores tomorrow despite a public holiday,” he said.

Authorities have strengthened the presence of security forces on ground in vulnerable areas of the city and elsewhere in the Valley to contain the protests, the official said.

He said the restrictions were being enforced strictly to avoid any further loss of life or damage to property.

Mobile Internet services across the Valley and train services remained suspended for the fourth day even as mobile telephony was partially restored in the four districts of south Kashmir.

Normal life remained affected across the Valley due to the strike called by the separatists groups.

Public transport was completely off the roads while private cars and auto-rickshaws were seen plying at few places in the areas where there were no restrictions, they said.

Educational institutions in the Valley were closed on account of the ongoing summer vacations, while Central University of Kashmir (CUK), Islamic University of Science and Technology (IUST) and Jammu and Kashmir Board of School Education (JKBOSE) have postponed the examinations due to the prevailing situation.

Most of the separatist leaders, including Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Mohammad Yasin Malik, are either in custody or house arrest.

Kashmir violence: Home Minister meets Imams

 

New Delhi: Home Minister Rajnath Singh today met a group of Imams who urged him to help restore calm in the Kashmir Valley which is witnessing turmoil following the killing of Hizbul commander Burhan Wani.

The Imams told Singh that they would be meeting Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti and local clerics of the state in an attempt to help bring calm in the Valley.

“We had detailed discussions with the Home Minister on the prevailing situation in Kashmir. We have urged him to ensure that calm and peace returns to the Valley. Just like Muslims from any other part of the country, Kashmiris are also our brothers. We are with them and appeal them to bring normalcy and peace,” Umer Ahmed Ilyasi of All India Organisation of Imams of Mosques said after the meeting.

He said a group of Imams will be meeting the Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and also Imams in the Valley to ensure peace and calm is restored as quickly as possible.

Ilyasi said they are opposed to any kind of terrorism in any part of the world.

“We are talking about Kashmir but not Kashmiris. It is time that we take forward dialogue with Kashmiris,” he said.

Yesterday, the Home Minister reached out to opposition leaders including Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and Parliamentary leaders of all parties, and discussed the prevailing situation there.

PTI