JKNPP stages protest, demands withdrawal of unilateral ceasefire

The Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPP) staged a protest on Saturday, demanding the withdrawal of a unilateral halt on security operations in the state announced by the Centre.

A group of JKNPP activists led by its chairman and former minister Harsh Dev Singh staged the protest at Exhibition Grounds here.

“We have staged the protest to draw the attention of the prime minister to various issues haunting the Jammu region,” Singh told reporters.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in the state today to inaugurate various projects.

Opposing the unilateral ceasefire announced by the Centre during the holy month of Ramzan, he said that the move had "backfired".

"In the wake of separatists and other terror organisations rejecting the government's move, Pakistan opened unprovoked firing and shelling on the borders claiming a number of precious lives,” he said.

Four civilians and a BSF jawan were killed while 12 others were injured as the Pakistan Rangers rained mortar shells on villages and border outposts in Jammu yesterday.

Referring to the rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl in Kathua, Singh sought the intervention of Modi for transfer of the case from the crime branch of Jammu and Kashmir Police to the CBI.