Geelani, PC appeal for peace
At the same time, the Centre declared in Parliament that it would reactivate the dialogue process once normalcy was restored in the Valley where 46 people have died in police firings over the past 55 days.
Addressing a press conference soon after his release, Geelani’s appeal will likely help reduce the level of violence and turn around the situation on the ground level.
The Hurriyat Conference leader, largely believed to have a hardline view on the Centre’s Kashmir policy, was arrested a few days ago when violence broke out in the Valley. Since then, both the Centre and the state government have tried to reach out to Geelani in their attempts to use his influence over the people so that scale of violence was curbed. In a statement in both Houses of Parliament, Union Home Minister P Chidambaram expressed deep regret over the loss of lives in the cycle of violence that has crippled the state since June 11, asking Kashmiris to repose faith in the elected government of Omar Abdullah as a means to find solutions to their problems. In both Houses, members demanded a debate on the issue. While Chidambaram sought to outline the government’s policy on Kashmir, the United Nations appeared to have backtracked on its position.
On his part, Chidambaram said the Centre is backing the state government which was “actively considering a number of political and administrative measures” to restore normalcy.
The minister emphasised that the Centre and state government would work toward holding dialogue, redressing genuine grievances, speeding up development programmes and ensuring equity, justice and honour for all sections of people.
In Srinagar, another civilian was killed by security forces, taking the toll to 46 since June 11. Shops, educational institutions, banks, post offices, businesses and government offices were shut in several parts of the Valley.
The home minister also said security forces have conducted themselves with “commendable restraint in a highly-volatile situation”.