Rajnath begins ‘Mission Kashmir’

Home Minister Rajnath Singh said here on Wednesday he will hold talks with various stakeholders in Kashmir, and invited all those who believe in Kashmiriyat, Insaniyat and Jamhooriyat as he arrived on a two-day visit under the Centre’s outreach to the Valley, which saw a spurt in violence since July 9.

Mr. Singh, who is accompanied by Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi, will review the situation in Kashmir, where as many as 65 people have been killed and over 8,000 injured in clashes between protesters and security forces that broke out in the wake of killing of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen ”commander” Burhan Wani in an encounter.

The Minister arrived at 11.30 a.m. in a special plane.

“I will be staying at the Nehru Guest House. Those who believe in Kashmiriyat, Insaniyat and Jamhooriyat are welcome,” he tweeted before heading for Kashmir.

“Shall interact with civil society groups, political parties and other stakeholders,” Mr. Singh said.

The Minister’s visit comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s interaction with a delegation of Opposition parties led by former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in New Delhi on Monday.

Mr. Modi expressed “deep concern and pain” about and over the situation there and asked all political parties to work together to find a “permanent and lasting” solution to the problems the State faced.

This is the second visit of Mr. Singh in a month to the Valley.