No decision on ceasefire but more sops for Valley
60% posts in 7 new battalions to be kept for border residents
SRINAGAR: Union home minister Rajnath Singh did not say whether the government would continue its suspension of security operations in Kashmir beyond Ramzan, but announced several efforts to reach out to the people of the region during the last day of his two-day tour on Friday.
The suspension, or the unilateral cessation of operations, was put in place in May for the month of Ramzan which ends next week.
The state’s top officials, including chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, have told Singh that the move has succeeded in bringing down violence in civilian areas, according to a functionary of the Peoples Democratic Party who was aware of the deliberations between the home minister and state officials. This person asked not to be identified because the discussions were classified. The PDP rules the state in alliance with the BJP.
“We will sit and after reviewing the situation, a decision about the ceasefire will be taken,” Singh said while visiting frontier villages in Kupwara.
The minister announced new plans to set up two border battalions and five battalions of the Indian Reserve Police, with 60% of the posts reserved for people who live in border areas.
Such regions will also be given several bullet-proof ambulances and the government will build more than 14,000 bunkers for people to take shelter in during episodes of violence between India and Pakistan.
A nine-day long intense bout of shelling by Pakistan from May 15 to May 23 left 12 people dead and 56 others injured besides displacing over one lakh people from Jammu, Samba and Kathua districts. The two countries held DGMO (director general of military operations)- level talks on May 29 to restore the November 2003 ceasefire and bring calm to the borders.
Pakistan violated the ceasefire again on June 3 killing two BSF men and injuring 14 civilians in the Pargwal sector of Jammu district. Following this, BSF and Pakistan Rangers held a sector-commander level flag meeting at the Octroi post in Suchetgarh area of RS Pura sector Monday evening to restore sanity on the border.