Will Talk To Moderates, Others For Peace In Kashmir, Says Rajnath Singh

The Rajya Sabha unanimously adopted the resolution read out by Home Minister Rajnath Singh after a day-long debate, the second this Parliament session on the violence that has torn through the Kashmir Valley since security forces shot dead Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Burhan Wani last month.

The Home Minister said Pakistan was behind several incidents that led to the unrest. "If there will be talks with Pakistan, there won't be a discussion on Kashmir, but on Pakistan Occupied Kashmir," he said addressing opposition concerns on dialogue with Pakistan.

To an opposition call for the start of a political process in Kashmir to address a "trust deficit," Mr Singh said the centre is ready to talk to "mainstream political parties, moderates and other organisations."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Home Minister said, would preside over an all-party meeting on Kashmir on August 12, Friday, once the monsoon session of Parliament ends.

Opposition leaders were agitated that PM Modi was not present at today's discussion. The Congress's Ghulam Nabi Azad asked why the PM had chosen not parliament but a rally in Madhya Pradesh to make his first comments on the Kashmir crisis.

"PM tweets about Africa, but not about Kashmir," said the Mr Azad, who is Leader of Opposition and a former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir.

Rajnath Singh asserted that he was speaking on behalf of the Prime Minister. "The Prime Minister quoted Vajpayee ji and said we will follow the path shown by him of Insaniyat, Jamhooriyat and Kashmiriyat," the minister said.

On the use of pellet guns by security forces against protesters, which has blinded nearly 100, Rajnath Singh said the forces had been ordered to "exercise maximum restraint," but emphasised that there will be no compromise on national security and that "pro-Pakistan slogans on Indian soil will not be tolerated."

He dismissed as baseless rumour reports that "After the Amarnath Yatra, Kashmir will be taken over by the Army." The minister conjectured that it came from social media.

Since Burhan Wani's killing on July 8, thousands of Kashmiris have flooded the streets, defying a curfew that has stretched over 31 days in the Valley. Armed with stones, they have attacked security forces in daily clashes. 56 people have died and over 7000 people are injured, many of them security personnel.