SRI NAGAR: After Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s tough stance on Kashmir, the state BJP has ruled out talks with separatist leaders in Jammu and Kashmir.“It has been decided there will be no talks with separatists. They are anti-national elements and there can be no talks with them,” senior J&K BJP leader and former deputy chief minister Kavinder Gupta said.
Claiming that separatists are not stakeholders in J&K, he said, “The people of Kashmir are the stakeholders. We will talk to them. But we want to make it clear that there will be no talks with separatist leaders,” he said. The BJP leader said the investigation in cases registered against the separatist leaders will continue.
On Monday, Home Minister Amit Shah while replying to a debate in Rajya Sabha on the extension of President’s Rule had said the Modi government has “zero tolerance” to terrorism and central agencies such as NIA and tax department are working to choke separatist financing in the state.
Gupta’s statement puts at rest speculation about Centre-separatists’ talks. There was speculation after Governor Satya Pal Malik’s disclosed that separatist leaders, who had earlier shut doors for talks, were now ready to hold dialogue with the government. The state government on directions of Home Ministry has already withdrawn security of the separatist leaders.
NIA summons Geelani’s grandson
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has summoned hardline separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani’s grandson Anees-ul-Islam Shah for questioning at the agency’s headquarters in New Delhi on July 9. Anees’s father Altaf Ahmad Shah is already under NIA custody.