Mehbooba Mufti meets Rajnath Singh, discusses Kashmir situation

Amidst the recent spurt in violence in Jammu and Kashmir, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti today met Home Minister Rajnath Singh and discussed with him the security situation in the state and how to bring back normalcy, officials said.

During the 20-minute meeting, the two leaders discussed the initiatives taken by the Centre's representative Dineshwar Sharma in holding talks with a wide cross section of society.

The chief minister briefed the home minister on the prevailing law and order situation and the steps taken to restore peace in the Valley. The situation along the border with Pakistan, which often witnesses attempts of infiltrations by militants and cross border firings, also came up for discussion, the home ministry official said.

The meeting came in the wake of growing demands for a CBI probe into the gangrape in Kathua and incidents of militant violence and encounters with security forces.

They also discussed how to ameliorate the misery of the civilian population, who often face  firing from across the border, and the implementation of the prime minister's development package, another official said.

There has been a spurt in the violence perpetrated by militants in the Kashmir Valley.

As many as 60 incidents of terrorist violence have taken place in Jammu and Kashmir from January till mid-March this year, killing 15 security personnel and 17 terrorists, according to data provided to Parliament.

Last week, an officer of the Jammu and Kashmir Police was badly injured in a stone-pelting incident in Srinagar.

Yesterday, the Concerned Citizens Group, including former Union minister Yashwant Sinha and former National Commission for Minorities chairperson Wajahat Habibullah, had said that the violence in the Kashmir Valley shows no signs of abating and is, in fact, being stoked by "talk of revenge" and "unrestrained public statements" from various actors.

The group, expressing deep anguish over the escalation in violence, said the solution to the present crisis lies in political dialogue.

Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh recently opposed any dialogue with separatists who "stay silent when innocent people are killed and give a call for strike when terrorists are eliminated".