Pakistan-sponsored terrorism on last legs in Kashmir, says BJP leader

Jammu, Sep 16: Senior BJP leader Devender Singh Rana on Saturday said Pakistan-sponsored terrorism is on its last legs in Jammu and Kashmir and slammed valley-based politicians advocating a dialogue with the neighbouring country.
Rana, a former legislator, said the people of Jammu and Kashmir are now realising the dividends of peace more than before.
National Conference president Farooq Abdullah on Wednesday said militancy in Jammu and Kashmir will not end until India and Pakistan hold a dialogue to find a lasting solution to all conflicts, while Congress leader Saif-ud-din Soz said the doors of dialogue should be opened to end the bloodshed in the valley. The two leaders made the remarks in the aftermath of the recent encounters that left five security personnel including an army colonel, a major and a deputy superintendent of police dead in south Kashmir’s Anantnag and Rajouri in Jammu region.
“The Centre has, time and again, made its policy of terror and talks not going together very clear and still those trying to carve out an unsolicited role for themselves, for whatever reason, by jumping the line, should understand that India cannot engage itself with a country that sprouts terrorism,” Rana said in a statement here.
Questioning the sensibilities of the “self-proclaimed votaries” of India-Pakistan talks and their sense of proportion, he expressed surprise and anguish over unwarranted rants of engaging Islamabad in dialogue even before the last rites of the bravehearts were held.
“The insensitive terror ecosystem should learn a lesson from the common man in Kashmir who took to the streets and joined the candle march to pay their tributes to valiant martyrs, who offered supreme sacrifice to maintain the prevailing momentum of normalcy in the valley,” Rana said.
He said the anger against the recent terror acts in the valley, as elsewhere in the country, is a mute reminder to the “rejected and frustrated political elite who seize such opportunities to play dirty politics in the mistaken belief of remaining relevant to politics”.
He said they forget that Kashmir has transformed and stands for peace and this urge has become predominant during the last four years that have witnessed near normalcy, leading to buzzing economic activity and humming tourist influx. (PTI)