Relate J-K troop deployment to ground reality, says Manmohan

At the end of a day-long meeting today of political parties that discussed the recommendations made by working groups set up last year, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced the creation of a standing committee of the working groups to carry the process forward and an oversight mechanism to coordinate implementation of the recommendations. The standing committee will take stock of the implementation while the oversight mechanism will identify bottlenecks.

Some participants at the meeting referred to President Musharraf’s proposals on Kashmir prompting the Prime Minister to say that “some public statements in this regard emanating from Pakistan do not give the correct picture. I have said earlier we are working towards resolving all pending issues with Pakistan and the resolution will benefit the entire region”.

Inaugurating the Roundtable, Singh said the Government was committed to minimising terrorism as well as human rights violations and “undue harassment” in the Valley. He said the deployment of security forces in Jammu and Kashmir needed to be related to the situation on the ground.

On human rights, he said the “government was totally committed to upholding the dignity of the individual and the protection of basic human rights in Jammu and Kashmir, as anywhere else in the country. We have again asked our security forces to ensure that their personnel carry out their difficult tasks in a humane manner”.

Pointing out that the vision for Jammu and Kashmir was embodied in “a broader vision for India and South Asia”, the Prime Minister said “a harmonious neighbourhood and a reconciliation with Pakistan” were important to realise the vision of an India and South Asia free from the fear of war, want and exploitation.

He called for resolving differences and overcoming the “trust deficit” that had cast a shadow on Indo-Pak relations.

Referring to the decision of separatist groups including the Hurriyat factions to stay away, the Prime Minister said, “I am impressed by the representative character of all the people taking part in this Roundtable. There are others who have decided not to join the dialogue. I hope they too join this process and contribute to the resolution of issues which affect the people of Jammu and Kashmir.”

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