PM chairs meet to review situation

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday appealed to people in Jammu and Kashmir to maintain calm to bring back normalcy in the Valley.

Hours after returning from tour to four African nations, Modi sat with top ministers and security officials to review the situation in the Valley where the killing of self-styled Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani has triggered violent protests.

Chairing a high-level meeting where a detailed presentation on the security scenario was made, Modi voiced his concerns over the situation in the state and appealed to the people to maintain peace.

“He also expressed hope that no innocent person should face any kind of inconvenience or loss,” Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office Jitendra Singh said after the meeting. Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar were among those attended.

“The prime minister kept taking updates about the Jammu and Kashmir situation during his visit abroad. The biggest evidence of his concern is that he called this review meeting within hours of returning from the tour,” Singh said.

In the meeting, Modi also expressed satisfaction over the progress of the Amarnath Yatra. He asked the officials to ensure that all help sought by the state government should be provided by the Centre without fail.

The home minister has postponed his visit to the United States to attend the five-day Indo-US Homeland Security Dialogue scheduled to begin on July 18.