Not only our door but windows are also open: Rajnath Singh on restoring peace in Kashmir

SRINAGAR: A day after Hurriyat leaders refused to talk to members of an all-party delegation who went to meet them, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said the behaviour of the separatists was not in the ambit of insaniyat, jamhooriyat or Kashmiriyat.

However, the minister clarified that the parliamentarians had gone to meet the Hurriyat leaders in their individual capacity and that the all-party delegation had not said yes or no to them.

For talks, with those who want peace and normalcy, Singh said, “not only our door but windows are also open”. To control the situation, as of now, the home ministry has sent 1,000 non-lethal PAVA shells, as an alternative to pellet guns, which Singh said will “not kill anybody”. Singh addressed a press conference in Srinagar on the conclusion of the two-day visit of the 26-member delegation. The delegation later went to Jammu.

On engagement with Pakistan, Singh said, “Don’t take things out of the country. First I am talking to people within the country.”

HURRIYAT REACTION
The Hurriyat Conference on Monday said the government should shun its ostrich approach and take serious initiatives to resolve the Kashmir issue peacefully and permanently. The all-party delegation, a Hurriyat statement read, had no mandate to talk outside the ambit of the Indian Constitution and thus the engagement with it was a useless exercise.