Home Minister Rajnath Singh said on Saturday that his government was looking at a “permanent solution for Kashmir” but stressed that the issue, which has been lingering on since 1947 could not be solved by “snapping fingers”.
The Minister’s remarks at a press conference came as the NIA conducted extensive searches in Kashmir, Haryana and Delhi to track down sources of funding for terrorist activities.
“We are working for a permanent solution. I have said this with utmost responsibility, after much thinking and deliberations. We have some plans and are working in this direction and will find a solid solution in future. It may take some time,” Mr. Singh said.
Pakistan blamed
He blamed Pakistan for sponsoring terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir but stressed that the violence will not last long.
The multiple raids conducted by the NIA were aimed at alienating separatist leaders among the Kashmiri population by exposing the wealth and property amassed by them, a senior government official has said. The NIA went ahead with the raids after collecting “hardcore evidence” for over several months, he said.
Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti was on board, the official added.
This is the first time in three decades that searches have been carried out at premises of separatist leaders.
The Centre has often blamed the State government for “pampering” the separatists and adopting a “kid-glove” approach.
However, in its First Information Report (FIR), the agency has not named any separatist leader and has instead referred to them as “Hurriyat leaders”.
The others named in the FIR are Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) chief Hafeez Saeed, the Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) and Dukhtaran-e-Milat.
Hurdles ahead
An NIA official said the persons raided were mainly middlemen and hawala operators, part of a well-oiled network to manage funds to incite terrorist incidents in the Valley.
Another official in the security establishment said it would be difficult to prove the flow of funds as hawala operators did not leave a money trail.
The NIA had earlier registered a Preliminary Enquiry (PE) against Kashmiri separatist leaders, for allegedly receiving funds from Lashkar-e-Taiba’s chief Hafiz Saeed to create unrest in the Valley. “The PE and on the basis of information from multiple sources, we registered an FIR. We have strong evidence,” said an NIA official.
The NIA had said earlier that it would be probing over 150 cases of rioting and stone pelting registered in the valley post-Burhan Wani’s killing on July 8, 2016, to find possible links to separatist leaders.
