The Concerned Citizens’ Group (CCG), led by former Union Minister and BJP leader Yashwant Sinha, on Thursday said its members were disconcerted to find “the situation in Kashmir deteriorated” and “Jammu being communalised” during their latest visit to the State.
“Within the Valley, despite security forces’ successes, recruitment to the militant ranks was on the rise with even highly educated youngsters choosing to pick up the gun,” said the report, drafted by the group’s members, which include security expert Kapil Kak, journalist Bharat Bhushan and activist Sushobha Barve.
Jammu was being communalised for narrow political gains, the report said. “The rape and murder of an eight-year-old Muslim was being used to fan communal passions by local politicians,” it noted.
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During their visit to the border areas, the group observed: “Year 2017 saw a six-fold increase in ceasefire violation compared to 2015. On the Indian side alone, over 40,000 civilians had to be evacuated in the areas near the International Border and the Line of Control.”
It said the “hopes of the Kashmiris in Prime Minister Narendra Modi seemed to have been dashed.”
“They had thought that he [Mr. Modi] would carry forward the initiatives of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. However, now they felt that he has brought nothing but despair and disappointment in Kashmir,” the report said.
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