No proposal to hold talks with J&K separatists as of now, says Rajnath Singh

New Delhi: The central government has no plans “as of now” to hold talks with separatist groups of Jammu and Kashmir, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said on Friday. “There is no proposal to hold talks as of now,” was a blunt reply from Singh at a press conference here in response to a question whether the Centre would be holding talks with Kashmiri separatist groups as was done during the tenure of Atal Bihari Vajpayee. [caption id=“attachment_2270178” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh[/caption] The NDA-I had engaged with Hurriyat leaders led by Mirwaiz Umer Farooq as well as with Yaseen Malik and Shabir Shah. The process was carried forward in UPA-I by the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh but it got scuttled after the Centre had asked Hurriyat Conference to bring a road-map on paper for finding a solution to Kashmir issue. The ‘Agenda for Alliance’, which guides the PDP-BJP government of Jammu and Kashmir, had said that following the principle of earlier NDA government, the coalition government will facilitate and help initiate a sustained and meaningful dialogue with all internal stakeholders, which will include all political groups irrespective of their ideological views and predilections. To another question, the Home Minister today asked people of the state not to fall prey to hollow slogans as the fate is with India only. “Kashmiri people should not get misguided by pro-Pakistani elements and remember that their future is linked to India,” he asserted at the press conference held for highlighting the achievements of one year of Modi government. Commenting on the hoisting of Pakistani flag at regular intervals in Kashmir, Singh said “We will not tolerate. No one will be allowed to misuse our soil.” The sudden spurt in waving of Pakistani flag has even been viewed with concern by former state Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. “The flag was waved during my term as well but I am concerned about the frequency with which it is being done now,” Omar had said. PTI