Rajnath on Mission Kashmir, again

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, Aug 23

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh will undertake a two-day visit to the Kashmir Valley beginning tomorrow. The visit comes a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed “deep concern and pain” over the situation in the troubled state.

Official sources said the Home Minister, who had promised the people in the Valley during his visit last month that he would come again, would meet "all who come forward for talks." An official said: "We are open to talks, but only within the framework of the Constitution, in consonance with insaniyat, jamhuriyat and Kashmiriyat.”

The Home Minister will also “review” the security situation in the Valley that has seen unrest ever since the killing of Hizb commander Burhan Wani in an encounter on July 8, resulting in the death of 65 persons, including two policemen, while thousands have been injured.

Former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, leading a delegation, had met the Prime Minister yesterday, seeking a “permanent and lasting” solution to the problem.

Meanwhile, in an effort to reach out to the people of Jammu and Kashmir, the Centre is in the process of providing employment opportunities to 1.40 lakh youths in the state through various means, including skill development training and jobs in the police and paramilitary forces.

The sources said 1 lakh youths, mostly under-graduates, would be given training under a centrally sponsored scheme called 'Himayat' in the next five years. They would be provided short-term training for at least three months, in an array of skills. At the end of the training, the youths would be assured of a job.

Another programme 'Udaan', launched in 2013, aimedto provide skill development training to 40,000 youths, mostly graduates and postgraduates over a period of five years.

The Centre is also in the process of recruiting 5,000 youths in the five newly created India Reserve battalions in Jammu and Kashmir.