Raghvendra Rao
New Delhi : A day after saying there were “reliable reports” that “anti-national elements” were “trying to exploit the situation” in Kashmir, Union Home Minister P Chidambaram today said these elements were “clearly linked to the LeT”.
“Anti-national elements are clearly linked to the LeT. We think it is the LeT that is active in Sopore area. Two militants were killed in an operation on June 25 in Sopore. We think that those two militants also belong to the LeT,” Chidambaram said.
Asked if he planned to visit J&K any time soon, Chidambaram said, “Not immediately. At the moment, the chief minister, the entire administarion and the police are engaged in restoring law and order. Today has been a relatively quiet day, except for one incident of minor stone pelting.”
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today chaired a high-level meeting to review the situation in the Valley.
Chidambaram was present, along with Defence Minister A K Antony and top government officials.
“We are reiterating our instruction to the paramilitary, the CRPF, to exercise maximum restraint,” Chidambaram said. However, when the state government imposes curfew, the curfew must be enforced. The state government does not enforce a curfew for the curfew to be violated. The curfew must be enforced. Therefore the CRPF will assist the J&K police in enforcing curfew.”
Chidambaram underscored that the Centre stood “committed to support the state government in restoring law and order”.
The minister also promised “full protection” to the Amarnath Yatra. “Adequate security forces will be provided and I sincerely hope that no one in Jammu and Kashmir will allow himself or herself to be misled into doing anything that will even remotely disrupt the yatra. We are sincerely hoping that the Amarnath Yatra will go on peacefully and we are committed to providing full security to the Amarnath Yatra,” he said.
“We are asking the chief minister and the minister of the state government to visit the disturbed area so that there can be some political action along with action taken by the security forces. We are confident that the state government will be able to restore law and order.”
On the direction to paramilitary forces to exercise restraint while faced with stone-pelting mobs, Chidambaram said that though the government was of the view that people had “no right to pelt stones” and “no right to riot”, “we should handle the situation sensitively”.
“In three of the incidents, according to preliminary inquiries, the CRPF had to fire rubber bullets or fire in self-defence,” Chidambaram said. “In two cases, their camps were attacked, they fired in self-defence. In one case, the vehicle was burnt, they jumped out of the vehicle and had to fire in self-defence. In every other case, the CRPF was working jointly with the J&K police, not independently, and they were under the control of the J&K police. It was a J&K police officer who would have issued the command... At the same time we have made it clear the curfew will be enforced. That means, no rioting, no stone-pelting.”
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