J&K opposition leaders to meet PM on Monday

Opposition leaders from Jammu and Kashmir are scheduled to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday.

Led by former chief minister Omar Abdullah, they will urge Modi to find a political solution to the turmoil in Kashmir.

Leaders of National Conference, the Congress and the CPM, who petitioned President Pranab Mukherjee with a similar demand on Saturday, met Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Sunday evening and apprised him of the prevailing situation in the Valley.

The Valley plunged into turmoil since the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani by security forces on July 8. Kashmir has witnessed sporadic protests since Wani’s killing and more than 70 people have been killed in violence and police firing.

Accusing the PDP-BJP government of failing to control the situation in the Valley, Abdullah had called a meeting of Opposition parties in Srinagar last week in an attempt to find a solution to the crisis.

Abdullah, along with G A Mir of the Congress and Yusuf Tarigami of the CPM, is expected to urge the prime minister to direct the state government against dealing with the situation in the state “administratively”.

The Opposition parties want the government to begin “credible and meaningful” talks with all stakeholders in the state without losing any more time. The Centre has already declared that there would be no lowering of guard in the Kashmir Valley.

During a meeting with Rahul Gandhi, the leaders apprised him of the “unprecedented disaffection” among the youth because of the government’s response to the crisis. Tarigami, who was part of the delegation, said the situation in the Valley should not be seen through the prism of law and order.

“There needs to be a dialogue with all stakeholders,” he said, recalling the then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s efforts to restore normalcy in Kashmir.