Small percentage holding majority to ransom in Kashmir: Manohar Parrikar

Washington: Defence minister Manohar Parrikar said that “a small percentage” of people in Kashmir are holding the majority to ransom and alleged that forces across the border are fomenting trouble in the Valley.

Parrikar said the government is working “proactively” to handle violence in the state.

“As far as Kashmir is concerned, the Indian government has been very proactive in handling the violence which comes from across the border” Parrikar told Pentagon reporters on Monday at a joint news conference with US defence secretary Ashton Carter.

“A few small percentage is holding the majority to ransom,” he added.

Asked about the current situation in Kashmir, he said curfew has already been lifted and an all-party delegation is also heading to the Valley.

“Kashmir has a government that is a democratically elected. And the chief minister belongs to the Valley,” he said.

Earlier this month, Parrikar had told a gathering of BJP workers in Haryana that Pakistan was trying to create tension in the Valley, but the security forces minimised the terror threat. He said Pakistan had no strength left for a face-to-face battle with India, and that’s why it was trying to wound India through terrorism.

At least 70 people have died in clashes between security forces and protesters after the death of a militant commander last month in Kashmir.

Curfew was lifted from most parts of the Valley on Monday -- after 51 consecutive days of lockdown and subsequent clashes in the aftermath of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani’s death on July 8.