Govt's full support is with you: Shinde tells soldiers in Samba

Rejecting Pakistan Premier Nawaz Sharif's demand for United States intervention to resolve Kashmir issue, Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde on Tuesday said there is no question of any role for a third party.

"There has been a stand since the period of Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru on Jammu and Kashmir that Kashmir is ours...No third party thing can happen. Anything that has to happen has to happen bilaterally," Shinde said in Jammu and Kashmir’s Samba sector.

Shinde visited Jammu to review the security situation in the wake of the increased ceasefire violations on the International Border by Pakistan.

The Centre is worried over the "increased infiltration" this year in Jammu and Kashmir, Shinde said.

"Looking at last year's record, we are not worried. This year, however, we are worried because of the increased infiltration. I have been discussing this with my officers about the reasons behind the infiltration," Shinde said while addressing the troops in Samba.

Immediately after his arrival in Jammu where he was received by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Shinde left for Samba to visit the forward posts and villages, which have been witnessing heavy fire from across the border leading to migration of scores of families.

The home minister will review the situation first hand in the forward areas with senior officers of the Border Security Force and meet the local residents. He will also visit Hiranagar in Kathua district.

One hundred and thirty six ceasefire violations have been reported so far this year, the highest in the past eight years. There were more ceasefire violations on the IB in R S Pura sector on Monday night as well. The violations have triggered panic and fear among villagers residing along the border. Many have deserted their homes and moved to safer areas prompting the state government to formulate a contingency plan.

Because of these violations, the home minister will not able be go to any forward post and will have to confine himself to meeting BSF personnel in Samba district in this region.

He expressed government's "full support" for the Central Armed Police Forces and said they have been granted the status of ex-servicemen like their counterparts in the defence services.

"The CAPF are not given the status of ex-servicemen like the defence forces. When I said this to the PM, he asked me to bring a note regarding this in the Cabinet. You all will be happy to know that CAPF have been granted the status of ex-servicemen," Shinde said. He also said that the ministry is considering extending few more benefits to CAPF personnel.

Shinde also sought to boost the morale of forces saying the government is aware of the hardships faced by them while guarding the country and will take steps to address their issues.

Shinde said, "There has been more infiltration than the past-infiltrations are going on -- we will taking more measures than the past." He also noted that morale of the jawans is high and they are working round-the-clock.

Asking security forces to be alert to prevent infiltration, he said, "I have been talking to all forces including defence forces (on foiling designs of cross-border infiltrations."

"We have information from various agencies that there is infiltration but numbers differs. We have number of agencies, we sit every week to come to the conclusion on this -- what exactly could be infiltration," he said.

To a question on Lashkar-e-Tayiba founder Hafiz Saeed training militants and pushing them into J&K, the Union Home Minister said, "A Red Corner notice has already been issued against him. As per our information it is possible that he must be giving training to terrorists on the other side of the border in various launching pads but unless that government hands him to us there is a problem."

Image: TV grab of Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde meeting Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah 

With inputs from PTI