NEW DELHI:A two-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir by members of all major political parties to assess the ground situation began on Monday as Home Minister P Chidambaram assured the people of the state their honour, dignity and future are secure as part of India.
The visit by the all-party team, the first in two decades, hoped to help break the deadlock in the Valley, where violence has claimed over 100 lives in the past three months. The delegation's recommendations will be considered by the Cabinet Committee on Security of Kashmir later this week.
“We are here to listen to your views, we will give you a patient hearing, what you think we need to do, in order to bring to the people of Jammu & Kashmir, the hope and the belief that their honour and dignity and their future are secure as part of India,” Chidambaram, who led the 38-member delegation to the state, said.
Separatist leaders Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and SAS Geelani, who decided to stay away from the meeting, were put under house arrest. ...
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02:40 PM, Sep 20, 2010
