Hope PM Will Address The Unrest In Kashmir, Says Mehbooba Mufti: 10 Facts

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti met Home Minister Rajnath Singh in Delhi today to discuss situation in Kashmir. "Hope PM will address the unrest in Kashmir... Try to heal wounds, start talks to keep up Vajpayee ji's Jammu and Kashmir initiative," Ms Mufti said.

Earlier today, the Prime Minister met with the Home Minister and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval to discuss the situation in Kashmir.

"The situation there is very tense and it is regrettable that the government is watching from the sidelines...not a word from the Prime Minister...people in Kashmir are wondering why the Prime Minister is silent on the situation in Kashmir," said Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad in parliament. The Left's Sitaram Yechury joined him in asking the government to call an urgent meeting of all parties.

Mr Yechury was among a group of opposition leaders who questioned the use of pellet guns to quell the huge protests. Hundreds of people have been left with serious eye injuries and been operated on because of the pellet guns. The Home Minister recently announced that a committee will look urgently for an alternative to the pellet gun and define the scope of use of the non-lethal weapon.

"Everyone's just talking about pellet guns. The government, particularly the PM, should look into this issue," said Sharad Yadav of the Janata Dal United or JDU in parliament today. Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said the government is ready for a discussion on Kashmir, but not today.

The streets of Jammu and Kashmir capital Srinagar are desolate today, the result of curfew and a call for a strike by separatists, who have been urging people to protest against security forces. Today, the separatists have called for a blocking of roads leading to the state government's offices. Poor attendance would further impede the administration of the tense region.

Wani, a top commander of terror group Hizbul Mujahideen, was shot by security forces on July 8. Thousands of people have since defied curfew to attend his funeral and demonstrate against security forces, who point out that hundreds of their own soldiers have also been injured in the clashes that have become a deadly daily feature.

Wani, who was just 15 when he joined Kashmir's largest terror group, used social media to urge other young men to turn against the state. Chief Minister Mufti has controversially suggested that if the forces who found him knew who he was, he may have been spared. The centre has been emphatic about the need to see Wani as a relentless terrorist who was located and killed on the basis of intel.

Wani has been eulogized by Pakistan as a martyr and Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and other top officers in his government have attacked India for his death, as well as for what they describe as the unjustified and blatant violation of human rights by India as it attempts to restore law and order in the Kashmir valley.

Delhi has accused Pakistan of instigating the cycle of violence in Kashmir and warned it not to interfere in the internal affairs of India. Home Minister Rajnath Singh travelled to Pakistan for a regional summit last week despite the plunging relations with Islamabad and warned Pakistan of the perils of distinguishing between "good and bad terrorists" and declaring terrorists as martyrs.