India is willing to talk to Pakistan if it stops sponsoring terrorism and takes the initiative for a meaningful dialogue, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday. He also said the Government is open to parleys with all stakeholders to restore peace in Kashmir and highlighted measures taken to bring Kashmiris into the national mainstream.
He rejected the Opposition claim during the Question Hour that terrorist activities had increased in the State after the surgical strikes in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK) on September 29 last year by the Indian Army and said as against 110 terrorist related incidents before the strike only 87 incidents took place after the cross-border action against militants. Moreover, 34 security personnel died in encounters before the surgical strikes and 19 such deaths were reported after it, the Minister said.
He made this observation when leader of Opposition and senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad charged the Government with not being serious in solving the Kashmir issue and “butchering the question” about surgical strikes. He also said the Government had not taken any new initiatives to generate employment for Kashmiris and giving selective answer to the question.
Replying to a query by Sharad Yadav (JD-U) about talks with Pakistan, Singh said even the previous UPA Government had maintained that Pakistan should first stop cross-border terrorism and create a conducive atmosphere for a dialogue. The Home Minister said the NDA Government holds the same view and is ready for dialogue with Pakistan after it takes steps to check terrorism emanating from its soil.
Fielding questions related to the situation in Kashmir, Singh said the Government was ready to talk to everyone and he sou-
ght the support of all political parties on the issue. He also informed the House that he visited the State thrice during the unrest last year including as head of an all party delegation.
Referring to the visit of the delegation, he said Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Mehbooba Mufti had even written a letter, inviting all such (separatist) forces to talk to the visiting delegation. “However, they still did not turn up,” the inister said.
Mentioning about the snub by separatist Hurriyat leaders to some members of the delegation when they tried to meet them, he said, these people (the delegation comprising Sitaram Yechury (CPM) and others) were forced to come back empty handed. Yechury said Kashmir situation is not just a law and order problem adding the trust deficit is growing and urged the Government to start a dialogue.
Mentioning some of the initiatives for employment, the Minister said the Government decided to recruit 10,000 Special Police Officers and claimed it was the biggest ever recruitment. Moreover, five India Reserve Battalions were raised and 4,500 Kashmiris were recruited besides providing them jobs in Central para-military forces.