Want permanent solution to Kashmir, ready to talk to anyone: Rajnath

New Delhi, Mar 17: Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday said that they wanted a permanent solution to the Kashmir problem and are “open to speak to anyone”, a media report said.
According to a report in Network18.com, Singh claimed that he had personally asked Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti to ignore cases against ‘first-time stone pelters.’
“Kashmir is, was and will be ours always. We want a permanent solution to the Kashmir problem and we are open to speak to anyone,” the report quoted Singh as saying.
“Government interlocutor Dineshwar Sharma was accommodating and moving forward in the direction to resolving issues,” he said.
The Home Minister further said that the government has made no difference between the children in Kashmir and those in the other parts of the country.
Singh also said that the government wanted a permanent solution to the Kashmir crisis, and that the state will always remain a part of India.
“The battle against Naxals can’t be won through bullets. We are trying to reach those areas which have remained unreachable since independence. Naxalism was a huge problem for India but in the last 4 years we have now achieved major success in that space. There were police and army officials dying because of this. We have brought it down heavily,” he said.
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh also said no power in the world could take Kashmir away from India and if need be forces could cross border to protect the country’s territorial integrity.
“Kashmir is, was and will be ours always. No one can take it from us,” Rajnath said, addressing the CNN News18 Rising India Summit.
He praised the Indian Army for its valour to secure the country and warned Pakistan, saying, “We not only secure India within but can also cross the border to protect the country, if needed. No one should take it otherwise.”
He said India wanted good ties with Pakistan, provided it stopped aiding terrorists.
“Now the US is condemning Pakistan. I don’t know what happened to Pakistan. We want good relations with Pakistan but it has refused to accept our offer of friendship.
“Pakistan is giving legitimacy to UN-designated terrorist Hafiz Saeed who is establishing a political party there and wants to contest elections.”
The Minister said the government was keen on finding a permanent solution to the Kashmir problem and was open to speaking to anyone.
To resolve the Kashmir issue, Rajnath said the government-appointed interlocutor Dineshwar Sharma, a former Intelligence Bureau chief, is moving forward and had invited people from all sections for talks.
He said Kashmir’s children were like his own and would not allow anyone brainwash them into radicalisation.
“I want to tell those who are trying to teach jihad to innocent Kashmiri youth that they should first learn the real concept of jihad in Islam.”
The Minister said he had personally asked Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti to ignore cases filed against the first-time stone-pelters.