Rajnath to undertake 2-day visit to Kashmir

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh will undertake a two-day visit to the Kashmir Valley tomorrow during which he will review the situation and may hold talks with cross section of people, a move which comes a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed "deep concern and pain" over the situation there.

This is the second visit of Singh in a month to the valley which has been witnessing unrest since July 8 when Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Burhan Wani was killed in an encounter with security forces.

As many as 65 people, including two policemen, have been killed and several thousand were injured so far in different violence. The Home Minister had said the Centre wants an emotional relationship with the state and not just need-based.

Singh had said the central government will talk to whosoever needed once peace and normalcy is restored in the state. "As far as Government of India is concerned, I want to make it clear that we don't just want need-based ties, but to build an emotional relationship with Kashmir," he said, reaching out to the people in the Valley while making a fervent appeal to them to help restore peace and normalcy in the state.

Yesterday, while meeting a joint opposition delegation led by former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had expressed his "deep concern and pain" over the situation there and asked all political parties to work together to find a "permanent and lasting" solution to problems in Jammu and Kashmir.