Mehbooba Mufti urged Centre to relax inner line permits for foreigners

NEW DELHI: Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti has urged Centre to relax the inner line permits for foreigners in Leh and Ladakh region. Mehbooba who was in the Capital on Thursday also met union home minister Rajnath Singh.

The State government said the relaxation will help to improve tourism in the valley, generate employment and bring development. At present, all foreign nationals need to apply for PAP (Protect Area Permits) in a group of two or more through a registered travel agent to visit the restricted regions in Ladakh of Nubra Valley, Tso Moriri, Pangong Tso and Dah-Hanu villages.

Top home ministry officials told ET that they are considering the suggestion from Mehbooba government but will tread cautiously after objections raised by the security agencies.

Officials said that they might consider relaxing the protected area permit (PAP) norms for foreign nationals except foreign nationals from prior referral categories countries that include China, Pakistan, and Afghanistan among others.

Singh led home ministry was also keen to fast track the rehabilitation and resettlement of lakhs of Hindus and Sikhs who migrated from Pakistan Occupied Kashmir ( PoK).

The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) chief during her meeting also reiterated the State government demand for funds for developmental projects.

Recently, the State government has sent a proposal for construction of a separate jail for terror convicts and ordinary convicts in wake of reports that the latter can be radicalized after coming in contact with the jailed militants.

According to the proposal, one prison building facility at Srinagar will cost around Rs 7 crores. Beside this, the two leaders believed to have discussed the modalities for improving the cross border trade between India and Pakistan.

The Centre also expressed concerns over the rising cases of youths from the valley being attracted towards terrorism. In 2015, as many as 61 Kashmiri boys reported to have joined militant outfits out of which maximum youths joined Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) followed by Lashkar-e-Toiba ( LeT), the J&K police informed the Centre.

The rising incidents of violence in the valley, infiltrations from across the border and engagements with separatists were other issues that were discussed between Rajnath and Mehbooba.