Government to deal with Kashmiri separatists on their terms

The central government is planning to deal with Kashmiri separatist leaders unleashing violence in the streets and spreading hatred among the people on their own terms, home ministry sources said on Tuesday.

Vexed with their defiance and volte face to the all-party initiative to find a solution to the unending street violence, the government is now considering reviewing facilities provided to separatists, including security, medical treatment and foreign trips.

Separatists have been provided a number of facilities by central as well as state government.

They get funds in the form of pension, travel allowance and medical allowance. Also, 900 policemen are deployed for their security.

Members of the Hurriyat Conference ignored individual members of the all-party delegation who tried to talk to them in Srinagar on Sunday.

On Monday, some Members of Parliament from the all-party delegation went out of the way to meet Kashmiri separatists in their individual capacity, but the behaviour of the Hurriyat leaders defied the spirit of ''Kashmiriyat'' ''insaniyat'' and "jammoriat", Rajnath Singh said.

''Some members of the delegation went to meet Hurriyat leaders. We had neither said 'no' nor 'yes' to their meetings (with separatists). You know what happened. They had gone there in their individual capacity,'' the home minister told reporters before winding up the all-party delegation's visit.

Instead of coming forward for talks with members of the all-party delegation, the separatists hardened their stance over their demand for right to self-determination.

Hardline Hurriyat chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani didn't let the MPs in as Janata Dal-United leader Sharad Yadav and Communist leaders Sitaram Yechury and D Raja kept waiting at the door of his upscale Hyderpora residence for about ten minutes before returning.

''If you do not want to talk it is a different thing. But what they did proves they have no faith in democracy,'' Rajnath Singh said.

Sources said the centre's action could include reviewing and scaling down the Z category security provided to some separatist leaders, who kept the gates of his Srinagar residence closed as the Left's Sitaram Yechury and other MPs attempted to meet him on Sunday.

Earlier on Tuesday, home minister Rajnath Singh who led the all-party delegation briefed Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the situation in the troubled valley where 75 persons have been killed and over 12,000 were injured in the aftermath of the 8 July killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani.

Rajnath Singh is reported to have later met some top leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party, including Ram Madhav, BJP's pointsman for J&K.

Addressing the media, Ram Madhav said a blueprint of action is being drawn for Jammu and Kashmir and that it will be discussed at the all-party meet on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, a delegation of Muslim clerics from Barelvi school who met with Rajnath to discuss the situation in Kashmir, said no one should have offered to meet these separatists who raise slogans like 'Pakistan Zindabad.'

"How can we talk to people who are raising 'Pakistan zindabad' slogans? We are very clear that we would not go at their doorstep only to be turned away by them, like they did to a handful of people recently," said Maulana Ansar Raza of the Garib Nawaz Foundation who led the delegation.

"Why should we go to them? Kashmiri kahwa to Dilli me bhi milta hai (Kashmiri kahwa [tea] is available in Delhi too)," Raza said. He called the members of all-party delegation who went to meet the Hurriyat leaders "chai khor".