Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said security forces in Jammu and Kashmir have been give a free hand to fight militants, The Hindu reported on Monday. His comments come just two days after the Centre decided not to extend the ceasefire that was in place during the month of Ramzan.
Singh told the newspaper that he was hurt by the murders of Rising Kashmir editor Shujaat Bukhari and Army rifleman Aurangzeb.
“A person like Shujaat [Bukhari] was killed, Aurangzeb was killed. We have given a free hand to security forces to conduct operations against terrorists,” Singh said, while explaining the reasons for not extending the ceasefire.
Bukhari and two of his personal security officers were killed by three bike-borne men as he left his office in Srinagar’s press enclave on June 14. The next day, the body of Aurangzeb, who was part of the team that killed Hizbul Mujahideen commander Sameer Tiger in April, was found in Pulwama after he was abducted on his way home to Poonch.
Meanwhile, a senior Home Ministry official told the daily that the impression that the ceasefire operations were being withdrawn because of any incident was erroneous. “The suspension of operations did not have an automatic extension clock,” the official said. “It was implemented for giving relief to people in Kashmir during the month of Ramzan and it served the purpose.”
Singh also said that the Amarnath Yatra, which commences on June 28, would be conducted smoothly. Every year, lakhs of pilgrims from across India trek up 4,000 metre to the cave, which has a natural stalagmite formation seen as an icon of Lord Shiva. In 2017, the yatra was marred by a militant attack on a bus with 56 passengers. Eight pilgrims were killed and 15 injured.
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